


Starlight and Repair boy (Heroes of Olympus fanfiction)

by Cynthia_TeamLeo



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Demigods, F/F, Leo Valdez Lives, Piper McLean is a Good Friend, Post-The Heroes of Olympus, Rick Riordan Demigod Universe | Riordanverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 39,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24529261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynthia_TeamLeo/pseuds/Cynthia_TeamLeo
Summary: Caitlyn Diaz thinks she's a normal girl with normal life. She wished to be a demigod, but her brain told her it wasn't possible. But she doesn't know she isn't normal, she was a demigod. Little does she know that the world she always had dreamed of was real. Caitlyn then meets the one and only, Leo Valdez. Everything spirals out of control and they both get sent on a quest. Caitlyn and Leo don't know what to do when they both face love triangles and the consequences for their decisions. Will they survive their trials? Or will monsters feast on them?----------*Don't read if you haven't read up to the burning maze*
Relationships: Leo Valdez/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Caitlyn

"A girl like me doesn't belong anywhere "

It was a normal day, I had a small breakfast, went to school late like always, had boring lessons and I kept fidgeting with my pencil. See? A completely normal day for a high-school student. 

I pretended to listen to teachers, forgot to bring in my homework and got told off for being irresponsible. 

You can't expect me to be a perfect student, I had moderate ADHD. Because of that, people look at me weirdly as if my face is deformed. They keep their distance as if ADHD was contagious, but they always try to be polite. You can easily tell that school wasn't the best place for a girl like me.

After school, I waited in the cold for my mum to pick me up. She was always late for everything. When there's a party, she'll arrive at least 30 minutes late because she was 'busy' choosing something to wear. 

After 20 minutes, she finally arrived with the car full of her shopping. I tried my best to move the groceries off my seat. No such luck. When I finally found space to sit down, we took off. 

"Was your excuse going to be that you were busy choosing eggs?" I asked my mum. She looked at me sheepishly and she apologised. It was expected of her anyway.

We went to pick my younger sister up from her school. As soon as she got in the car, she started blabbing about her day at school. "It was the best day ever! We learned how to add 40 and 30, guess what? It's 100!" I zoned out after a minute of her talking and stared outside the car window.

Trees past by the window, the clouds were slowly moving across the sky as I started to remember the incident the day before.

I was in my room, minding my own business when I heard a knock on the door. "Come on in!" I called out. 

Then, my dad walked in with a serious look on his face. He stood in front of me uncomfortably as he passed his hand through his head when he felt insecure. I waited for a few minutes for him to do something, but he kept passing his hand through his hair. 

I was starting to get impatient when I asked "What do you need?". 

He looked around as if he was making sure we were alone. I felt uneasy but I managed to hide it from my face. My dad still hadn't said anything, but then he suddenly took hold of my shoulders. 

I felt a shock go through my body, filling it with a warm sensation. My mind seemed to clear my thoughts and my head felt like a balloon. 

It felt like as if I were being struck by a bolt of lightning. I felt my consciousness slowly fade away when a thought struck me. He's trying to hurt me, I had to do something.

I pushed my dad away from me, scared for his sake. 

I pushed him so hard that he fell back sprawled over the floor. I looked at him with disbelief.

Before I could help my dad up, he sat up and smiled at me. " I'll leave you to keep doing whatever you're doing". Before I could protest, he left the room, leaving me speechless.

I tried to remember why I had pushed him but my head felt light, I couldn't remember anything that just happened. It was only the next day I had been able to remember.

I was still thinking about it until now. I remembered how weird I felt and how shocked I felt because my dad acted as if nothing happened. What happened to my dad? Why was he acting so weird?

I stared into the clouds hoping for an answer


	2. Chapter 2

Caitlyn

"I'm a demigod... AWESOME!"

As soon as we got home, I felt something was wrong. 

I couldn't get rid of a cold sensation down my spine, but I decided to ignore it. I went through a hard day at school and I was tired.

I got out of the car with my heavy bag over my back weighing me down. I walked to the house when I saw something completely unexpected. 

I dropped my bag next to me gaping at what I was seeing.

I choked as I took in the sight, the house was a huge mess. 

The dining table was flipped over. There were papers all over the floor, along with a few broken plates. The drawers in the kitchen were all open with the cutlery all over the place. The curtains were cut, were those claw marks?

My mum walked to my side and she took in a sharp breath and swore in Portuguese. We didn't move for a while, we froze in our spots wondering what the hell happened. 

My sister snapped me out of my concerns when she came. "What happened?" she asked, her lip quivering. We didn't answer, we were too shaken. 

We suddenly heard a crash from the hallway. I could make out the sound of footsteps and...growling? 

Someone dashed into the room holding a bow and a quiver full of arrows. He had short golden hair that shone and his eyes were... gold. He looked he was in his 20s and he wore leather. He looked like he was the lead singer for a boy band. 

I suddenly remembered him. 

When I was 13, I stayed home with my dad while my mum and my sister went to a birthday party. At some point, I was reading when I heard music from my parent's room.

I was curious, so I went down the hallway and I put my ear against the door. I could hear a man singing in a beautiful voice.

The door creaked open and I saw the same guy on my parent's bed, he was lying down singing to an old song. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He seemed to have a gold aura surrounding him as he sang.

I freaked out, I left the room trying to look for dad. When I went back in, he was gone. I couldn't think straight, there was an intruder!

I rushed around the house looking for my dad. I finally found my dad in the garden planting a flower in the ground. 

I told my dad what I saw, but he simply said that I had a wonderful imagination, seriously? I didn't speak to dad for the whole day.

The growling sounded louder from the hallway and the man nocked an arrow to his bow. "Get out! I'll handle it!" He shouted at us. 

My mum seemed to know what to do, she grabbed my sister's wrist and ran to the garage. 

I couldn't move, I felt rooted to the floor. The man gestured to me to leave. But it was too late, the monster entered the room. There was nothing as terrifying as the creature I was looking at. 

It had a head of a lion, a head of a goat on its back and a snake for a tail. The lion bared its sharp teeth and roared. 

The goat shook its head showing off the enormous horns sprouting out of its head and it chattered its teeth. 

The snake stared at me with its yellow eyes making me tremble with fright. It hissed at me with amusement revealing its fangs.

I thought of the name of the creature. I had my mythological beasts test a few weeks back when it popped up in my head, The Chimera. 

I remembered the story of how Bellerophon killed it. He put lead into its mouth when it breathed fire, it melted and it instantly killed the Chimera. 

"Do you have lead?" I yelled at the man trying to shoot the monster. The man took a while to respond as he was trying to keep the Chimera back. "Of course I don't! If I did, I would've used it ages ago!" He yelled at me. Before I said anything, the Chimera breathed fire over the man. 

The man dodged out of the way. His hair was on fire and he looked really mad."Not cool! You don't mess with Apollo!" He yelled into the Chimera's face. 

It growled back, unsatisfied that Apollo wasn't cowering with fright. 

I tried to think of things that contained lead to defeat the Chimera. A pencil? No, they got rid of it ages ago. A marker? I didn't think so. A pen? Stop thinking about art things Caitlyn, use your brain! 

I thought of all the science classes I had recently. I remembered doing an experiment with an object with lead. What was it? 

I urged my brain to think harder. I started thinking of cars and remote controls and... Oh! My eyes widened. "You keep doing what you're doing! I'll get something!" I shouted to Apollo. 

Apollo kept the Chimera back with an arrow, though it didn't seem to affect the Chimera. It would only growl with annoyance and try to swipe its claws at Apollo. 

Apollo for some strange reason he started to sing. His voice calmed the Chimera, making its attacks slower. The Chimera tried to stay awake but its eyes wouldn't cooperate. As soon as it collapsed to the floor, Apollo turned his eyes to me urging me to hurry.

I needed to be fast, or the Chimera would have Apollo for dinner. I ran to the garage as fast as I could. When I got to the stairs I stumbled to the floor, grazing my knees. Seriously Caitlyn? You're trying to help Apollo and you only achieve hurting yourself? 

Ignoring the pain in my knees I kept running to the garage being more cautious this time. I slammed the door open and hurried to the car.

I didn't notice my mum and my sister in the corner of the garage holding to each other. I didn't have time to talk to them, I opened the hood and went through the wires. 

"What do you think you're doing?" my mum asked from behind me. "Don't worry you can get a new car battery" I responded.

My mum's eyes widened with shock, she was about to protest but my sister wouldn't let her.

Using my pocket knife, I cut the wires loose and got out the car battery. I lifted it out of the car and almost dropped it.

Damn, it's really heavy.

I tried to run back to the house but the battery was weighing me down. I finally went through the door and found the Chimera opening its eyelids. Apollo was sweating and tried to keep singing but his voice wavered. 

The Chimera growled and stood up. I needed to act now. 

Just before it could breathe fire, I ran up to it and forced the battery into its mouth.

The Chimera's eyes widened in surprise and it started choking, it staggered around the room until it let out a whine and dissolved into golden powder. 

I looked at Apollo in amazement. "You're the Apollo? The god of the sun and music and all that? I don't believe it, how-" I stuttered. 

Apollo smiled, just like the smile my dad would give me when he was proud of me. I gasped realising the truth. My life had always been a lie.

"Caitlyn, I'm not just Apollo, I'm your dad." He answered waiting to see my expression.

I read enough Rick Riordan books to know what that meant. 

"That means- that I'm-" I started stuttering again. Apollo, I mean, dad nodded "You're a demigod, there's nothing you can do to reverse it." He offered me a hand "Now, let's drive you to where all demigods train, Camp Half-Blood."


	3. Chapter 1

Hope you enjoy my book! I've been working on it since last year and I've finally completed it a while ago.


	4. Chapter 4

Caitlyn

"A chat with your parent can be awkward, especially if they're a god"

I was the most impressed I had ever been when saw my dad's chariot. Believe it or not, it was solid gold. The chariot was filled with scenes of Apollo's greatest achievements, such as his fight with Python. 

In front of the sun chariot, were horses. Their manes were beautifully styled and they had a beautiful coat of white fur. Their neighs sounded beautiful, it reflected the sound of Apollo's voice, it wasn't a big surprise. 

"What do you think?" Apollo/dad asked, a grin creeping on his face. 

"It's incredible!" I exclaimed. But, it would look a lot better if it weren't so small. How are both of us even going to fit in there?

Apollo studied my face. "I know what you're thinking, it could be a whole lot better!" He replied.

He clapped his hands and his chariot disappeared, along with his horses. In its place stood a helicopter.

It was all gold, just like the sun chariot. It still had the engravings of Apollo's greatest battles. It was quite small, but it could fit both of us.

"Come on in!" Apollo called out to me, going into the helicopter. I followed in, stumbling as I did so. The inside was fancy. The two seats in front of me were red velvet. (not the cake, though it would've been a nice touch)

There were lots of buttons at the front, all of them either gold or bronze. The carpet was a bright red, it's surface smooth and delicate. 

"Welcome to Apollo's chariot, please take your seat." Apollo spoke into his headset. 

I squished into the seat next to him and put on my seatbelt.

Apollo switched on some buttons and muttered things under his breath. Once he pulled the lever next to him, we were slowly rising. He pressed a few more buttons and taa-daa! We were off.

Apollo leaned back onto his headrest finally relaxing after a while. "We will reach Camp Half-Blood in half an hour, this girl can go quite fast!" Apollo bragged.

I took in the events that have happened in the last hour. I come home to find dad fighting a Chimera, I helped him. Apollo announces that he is my dad and now he is transporting me to Camp Half-Blood in this amazing helicopter. Things can't get any weirder. 

How wrong I was.

"Caitlyn, there are some things we need to discuss." Apollo cleared his throat. "I guess you want to know how on earth a god lives with you."

Yes dad, I want to know how that could be possible. Zeus banned all gods from getting married to mortals and living with them. I know this because I had always been a huge fan of Rick Riordan's books. 

I had no idea it was all real. This means the war against Kronos was real, the prophecy of seven was real. My dad had been a mortal three times, all real.

I got so distracted by my thoughts I didn't realise Apollo was already talking.

"Well, I may have been a little naughty, breaking Zeus rules and all that" He spoke, he sounded like he had been rehearsing this phrase in front of the mirror. 

"When I first set my eyes on your mother when she was performing with her band, I instantly fell in love with her and her voice." He took in a deep breath and kept speaking. 

"Your mother and I got closer and closer each date and I finally proposed to her. I was smitten by her and I didn't care about Zeus' rules, love is love. We got married, and we had you. But so that we wouldn't get in trouble, I had to blend in. I had to live like a mortal. It was hard, I mean a part of me was mortal and another part is sending demigods on a quest. You have no idea how confusing that is. Anyway, ever since I was Lester, the last time Zeus made me a mortal, I got used to being a mortal.'

A storm arose, threatening to rip the helicopter to shreds. "Oh don't be so ridiculous Zeus, let me finish explaining!" Apollo shouted. The helicopter trembled but eventually, the storm cleared as quickly as it started. 

Apollo muttered under his breath, something about Zeus' rages and other words I shall not repeat.

"Sorry for the interruption, I shall continue." He continued. "Life with you guys got easier, though I had to modify your memories after I went missing because Zeus turned me into a mortal..." 

"Wait" I interrupted. "What on earth did you change?" My eyebrow rose. Apollo nervously shifted in his seat. I pretended not to notice this and I kept giving him an accusing look. "Nothing important. Do you want ice-cream?" Apollo asked, changing the subject.

I shrugged and an ice-cream cone appeared in my dad's hand. "Here you go, cookies and cream, your favourite" Apollo gave me the ice-cream. I thanked him and started licking the ice-cream. 

I didn't remember telling my dad my favourite ice-cream flavour. I pushed the thought aside, parents knew that kind of stuff. I greedily filled my mouth with ice-cream, ignoring the brain freeze I constantly got.

"Continue," I assured him, my mouth full of ice-cream.

"My point is, you're a demigod. Because of my relationship with your mother, you exist. I may have made mistakes for love, but I don't regret staying with your mother. Even if Zeus turns me back into a mortal." Apollo recoiled against the seat, probably expecting Zeus to appear out the sky and zap Apollo into a snobby mortal.

Nothing happened. Dad sighed with relief and I heard him mutter a thank you to his dad. 

"Wait, what happened yesterday? Why were you acting weird? You know? You took hold of my shoulders and I felt really weird... What happened?" I asked him. Dad tensed up and let out a sigh. 

"As you enjoy reading books about demigods, you should know that all demigods have a smell that attracts monsters," He said casually.

I scrunched up my nose and smelled the air around me, nope, I don't smell like anything.

Dad laughed. "You can't smell it but monsters certainly can. What I was doing yesterday was putting a protective shield around you so that you don't attract monsters. You didn't let me finish fixing up the shield so your scent must've lured the Chimera to our house."

"So that time was the first time you put the shield around me?" I asked.

"No," Apollo shook his head. "I have done it before, I do it once a year. The reason you don't remember is that once I finish putting the shield around you I clear your memory of it. I must've forgotten to do so yesterday because you pushed me."

I stopped him. "But you're big and powerful. Why did I have to carry a hundred-ton car battery to save you? Can't you make lead appear out of thin air?"

Dad raised his eyebrow at my comment and replied. " I just had transformed from a mortal, it takes time to retrieve all your powers and abilities."

I nodded with understanding and we stayed silent for the rest of the flight.

We flew on until New York came into view. Towers rose over the streets and I could see people rushing all over the place. The streets were packed and even from here, I could smell the smoke from the traffic. But that wasn't what I was looking at.

As we neared to our destination, I could see Long island across Manhattan. I couldn't see the camp over the hills but I imagined what would be waiting for me there. I will be among other people like me, I assured myself. When you get there, just be you.

I couldn't keep down the butterflies in my stomach. I would finally see the heroes I read about. But what if they didn't like me? What if everybody in the camp decides to hate me? I tried to push these aside. What if I don't belong?

We'll see Caitlyn, all I had to worry about is landing at camp. Hopefully, Zeus wasn't planning on striking the helicopter with a lightning bolt because of what Apollo said.

Below the Helicopter, strawberry fields covered the land, the strawberries shining in the sunlight. As we neared, I could see a climbing wall, it wasn't a wall exactly, it was more of a mountain. Lava poured over it like a waterfall.

I looked at the other side and I could see the lake. It was sparkling under the sunlight and I could see some campers rowing their boats. 

We hovered over the cabins, all of them were different colours and had different parts of it but all were equally beautiful in its unique way. This is better than what I had dreamed of. 

Apollo gave me a thumbs up, then he pushed some buttons. "See you later Caitlyn, I hope you enjoy the camp!" He smiled. As if on cue, my seat disappeared from below me.

I didn't have time to scream. I tried to grab hold of something but it was too late. I started falling to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

Leo

" Mirror, mirror on the wall, am I the most broken of them all?" 

Weird things do happen when you're a demigod. Some weird things have happened to me, I had fire powers, I started a war with the Romans, (That wasn't me, I was being controlled!). Once, everyone thought I was dead for 6 months and I helped mortal Apollo defeat his super crazy ex-boyfriend. 

Heck, I've gotten used to weird things happening to me.

I was walking beside the lake, my hands were doing its own thing with the metal in my hands. The breeze whipped my hair and soon I started shivering. 

An hour ago, I was climbing the lava rock wall when I started to think about Calypso. I was halfway through the wall and it is quite tall, unlike me. When I looked at the lava, I remembered the fire inside Calypso. I always looked at a flame and thought of her, it reminded me of her determination. 

Her hair reminded me of the colour of the rock I was holding, it seemed like I thought of her in everything. I closed my eyes and I could swear I smelled cinnamon, where are you Calypso?

I was distracted, my hand slipped off the rock and I started falling towards the ground. I started yelling like the maniac I was.

Just before I could hit the ground, I grabbed a rock sticking out of the wall. I yelped in pain, the rock was digging into my hand and it hurt like crazy. My body went flat against the wall, into a stream of lava.

If I were any other demigod, I would be dead. But luckily, I was so awesome I was heatproof. Everybody gasped below me, "Guys! Chill, I'm all right!" I shouted down to them.

I could hear the sighs of relief from my siblings and I could picture the other campers looking up at me with their mouths wide open, waiting for a fly to make itself at home. 

I slowly made my way down the wall, careful with my grazed hand, it still hurt. When I got down, everybody was asking me whether I was okay and some new campers were asking me how I didn't die. 

Because of my ADHD, I started to get a splitting headache because of all the questions. Luckily, my half-sister, Nyssa pushed through the crowd and she dragged me out of the chaos.

As soon as I got out I cried with relief, "Thank you, Nyssa! You're a hero! Are you sure you're not Wonder Woman?" Nyssa rolled her eyes and kept tugging on my shirt filled with grease marks.

"Where are we going?" I asked her, feeling like an animal on a leash. Nyssa frowned at me, "You were distracted, you need help." She didn't say another word and she pulled me harder towards the Big House. 

We were greeted by Argus at the doorstep. His gazillion eyes followed us as we walked onto the porch. "Hey man, what's up?" I tried to sound casual but I sounded like I was asking for help. I hoped he didn't see that I was in trouble with my sister.

Nyssa dragged me into the room and forced me to sit on the couch. "Sit!" She ordered. "Whatever you say, boss," I replied. Nyssa glared at me and I shut up.

Chiron walked into the room, his wheelchair making a creaking sound as he pushed the chair towards me. He stopped in front of me and he reached for a Snausage and tossed it to a cheetah head hanging on the wall, Seymour. 

Seymour ripped the Snausge into shreds with his teeth and gulped it down. Don't ask me where his food goes after he swallows it, I don't know.

"Leo, we need to talk." Chiron transformed into a centaur, his wheelchair disappearing. "Sir, what about? I'm pretty sure I'm fine, just a grazed hand." I reassured him. Why everyone's making a big deal out of this? I just slipped and it was normal for a demigod to almost die.

" I heard Calypso left you. That explains the concerns of your friends." Those words felt like an arrow being shot into my heart. For once, I was speechless. Nyssa put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me with concern, "I'm sorry Leo, I had to tell Chiron. I was so worried, so were other people," she explained. 

I stared at the floor wishing I could sink into the earth, never to be seen again. I tried to blink back tears. They can't see me like this, I felt like I had a missing part of me. The mega-size Mcshizzle does not cry, he is awesome and funny (and handsome, don't you think?) but not broken. 

Chiron studied me and kept talking, "I know that you are heartbroken that such a special person has left you but Leo, you need to move on." How? I thought Calypso was the one, I thought she loved me. "Leo, we want you to be happy. We are letting you skip the activities for the whole day so that you have time to work things out for yourself." 

I considered that as a cue to leave. I stood up and weakly made my way to the door. Nyssa looked at me with sadness in her eyes. I knew she hated to see me in this position, I had to move on for everyone's sake. 

I silently left the Big House. I felt lots of pair of eyes looking at me with pity. I hated this feeling, I felt useless and beyond repair from the damage in my heart. First, my dad, Hephaestus leaves me and my mum, my mum dies in the hands of Gaia, I was rejected by my relatives and the foster homes I was dumped in and now, the love of my life leaves me.

My shaking legs lead me to the lake and that was where I was now, thinking. I don't think I had ever thought so hard in my life. I thought about Calypso and the way she made me feel, I thought about how I felt, I thought about the conversation that had happened. Why did Calypso break up with me? Hadn't we gone through a lot? 

I heard a scream from behind me. Well, this would be a way to keep my mind off Calypso. I turned on my heels and ran towards the direction of the scream.


	6. Chapter 6

Leo

"Why am I acting weirder than usual?"

I ran until I reached the area of the cabins. There was a crowd next to Hestia's hearth in the centre. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and I ran towards the crowd.

No matter how hard I tried, the campers wouldn't make way for me to see what was going on in the middle. Someone elbowed me in the ribs and man it hurt, imagine being hit by a table, it was 10 times worse because we demigods have super-strength.

I found Harley standing at the edge of the crowd.

"Hey, buddy, what's going on?" I asked my little eight-year-old sibling, patting his head. Harley jumped up and down as he spoke, "There's a new demigod that fell out of the sky. Luckily, when she reached the ground, she magically started floating down and now she's fine. I was there to witness the fall, it looks so much fun!" Harley smiled, revealing his lost tooth that recently fell off.

Poor camper, it sounded exactly how I arrived at Camp Half-Blood. I crash-landed in the canoe lake with Jason and Piper. It wasn't the best start to the camp. I expected welcome banners and a party, I was disappointed.

"Thanks, Harley, this crowd is real tough, no one bothers telling me anything!" I complained. That sparked a memory, I smiled remembering how Annabeth started screaming at the sky when they were at the canyon before crash landing at the camp before I even met Calypso...

I noticed that Chiron galloped through the crowd and he made his way to the middle. After a few moments, everyone went silent, waiting for Chiron to feed them information. 

I saw an opportunity because everyone was distracted and I squished through the crowd, luckily, I was scrawny enough to fit between Rachel and Piper. I made my way deeper into the crowd, accidentally stepping on someone foot in the process. 

When I first laid eyes on the new camper, I stopped thinking about Calypso instantly. The new camper had wavy dark golden brown hair that glistened in the sunlight and gently swaying in the warm breeze. 

The girl's eyes shone as bright as gold whenever a ray of sun shone into it. Her skin was a deep tan as if she sunbathed at the beach every day and did a great job at it. She kept fiddling with the sleeves of her grey hoodie and she looked as if she was trying hard not to laugh. 

She looked my age, which was a good thing.

If I were to guess who her godly parent was, it would be Aphrodite. I mean, anyone that perfect would be a child of hers. As Chiron asked her some questions, the new camper failed to meet Chiron's eyes and every once in a while, her eyes would dart around the cabins, observing each of them.

I could tell she was ADHD like most of us, the way she kept fidgeting and would shuffle on her feet gave it away. I was too busy staring at the girl to notice that Chiron started speaking to us.

"Everyone, this is Caitlyn Diaz. Make her feel welcome and show her what a wonderful place this camp is!" Chiron assured us. Everyone started cheering at the last sentence and Argus had to whistle loudly so that everyone would calm down. 

Caitlyn looked around the crowd as if looking for someone. I noticed her staring at Percy and Annabeth at the edge of the crowd. Percy's arm was wrapped around Annabeth's shoulders and Percy had whispered something to her that made Annabeth laugh and push him away. 

She started smiling and kept looking at the crowd. Her eyes landed on Nico and Will standing close to the centre, she eyed their linked hands and her eyes kept exploring. 

When she found Piper standing next to Rachel, her eyes seemed to fill with pity. As if she knew what Piper had to go through after... Never mind, Piper would hate it if I even thought about it. Piper was in a heated conversation with Rachel, she didn't notice Caitlyn looking at her.

After a few minutes, I noticed Caitlyn was looking at me. A joyful smile started growing on her face, gods she looked so adorable. When she noticed me looking back at her, she quickly looked away acting as if nothing happened. At least she laid eyes on me, that is as far as I can get with her, she was totally out of my league.

I guessed she expected to spot other people, but judging by her look of disappointment, she hadn't found everyone she was looking for. 

A golden lyre appeared on top her head, bathing her in its golden light. Everyone started to whisper to the people next to them, probably because she was swatting it away and looking bored. She tried to swat it away just as I did when I was claimed.

Chiron smiled at her as everyone started sharing their thoughts with their friends. Chiron gestured for everyone to stop talking, once we did he started talking, "Everyone let's bow down to Caitlyn Diaz, daughter of Apollo!" Caitlyn looked uncomfortable as everyone around her went down onto their knees and left her standing. 

Will was the first to get up. He flashed her an approving smile and offered her his hand. "Hi Caitlyn, looks like I'm your half brother!" Caitlyn enthusiastically shook his hand as everyone started to stand up.

"A camper will take you around camp with Will," I heard Chiron assure her. "Leo! Since you are so welcoming, you can show Caitlyn around!" My heart started doing backflips as I approached them. My legs were shaking, hope no one noticed.

Caitlyn smiled at me as I walked towards her, don't fall, don't fall, you'll only embarrass yourself! I finally made it to them without falling flat on my face. 

"Well Caitlyn, these two guys will take you around camp. Hope you enjoy your stay." Chiron galloped away towards the Big House. 

"Well then, let's get on with the tour!" Will broke the silence. Thank you Will, I honestly had no idea what to say to Caitlyn to impress her. We started to walk towards the lake with Caitlyn hanging on to every word.


	7. Chapter 7

Leo

"Yay! Another girl joins Team Leo!"

Let's face it, I acted like a klutz. Will did most of the talking. Luckily, Caitlyn was too busy inspecting the camp to notice me trip on air. Seriously, there is nothing as awkward than trying to impress a girl but instead, you fall flat on your face. My face probably was as red as a tomato when I picked myself off the ground.

When I caught up with them I heard Will say "Leo, we'll like to see more of you on the tour" Will raised his eyebrow. It was the first time I was even acknowledged. I chuckled nervously as I got into Bad Boy Supreme mode. "I thought you noticed my amazing 'falling onto my face' show?"

Will rolled his eyes, but at least I got a smile out of Caitlyn. We were now showing Caitlyn the cabins. Will pointed to the cabin that was painted white with a golden sun hanging over the entrance. " That's our cabin over there, it's quite big on the inside." Caitlyn looked at it and frowned, "I expected it to be more...uh...gold and shiny" I snickered, I would ask the same thing.

I'd met Apollo and I know he is into shiny things, it's a wonder why the cabin is only white. I bet Apollo's unimpressed with it. But I can't complain, I heard the Apollo cabin has some secret features that the other campers didn't know about. Maybe some lasers that shoot down intruders? A hot spa? I don't know. I planned to sneak in and check it out. But if there really was a security system, I wasn't going to risk it.

"Keep looking at it," Will told us. I stared at the cabin hard enough to notice that each time a ray of sunshine hit it, the walls gleamed gold. The gold shone so brightly it hurt my eyes. It sparkled under the sunlight, reflecting the heat off its walls. Caitlyn gasped. "Well, I'm not disappointed."

When we reached the Hephestus cabin, I was filled with pride when I noticed Caitlyn gaping at the cabin. "This is my cabin folks. As you can see, it totally rocks!" I marched up to the metal vault-like door and leaned against it. At that moment Nyssa opened it from the inside making me lose my footing and fall forward, for the second time, onto my face. Lucky me. 

Will started sniggering and Caitlyn laughed as she made her way towards me. She offered me her hand and I took it, I tried to hide my face. It felt as hot as the flames I produced. I knew Caitlyn noticed it, but surprisingly, she didn't mention it.

When Nyssa noticed what she had done, her eyes widened "I'm so sorry Leo! I didn't see you! I-" I cut her off "It's fine sis, it was an accident" Nyssa didn't look convinced. She asked at least a thousand times whether I was alright and I always gave her the same answer. "Yes, Nyssa I'm fine."

Caitlyn reassured her that I was alright. Nyssa looked at me with deep concern but she reluctantly walked off towards the Forges. My head was aching, but other than that, I was alright. Things couldn't get worse. Luckily, Tyche thought I had enough of bad luck for the day.

We moved on to the dining pavilion. "This is the place we eat and where the interesting stuff happens," I told Caitlyn. "On today's meal, we serve bug juice...Oh wait, we serve it every day! No one knows what's inside it, don't tell anyone but it's actually...bugs!"

Caitlyn burst out laughing and Will glared at me. If I were a monster and saw Will glaring at me like that, I'd run away screaming for my mother. 

We walked around the canoe lake as I stayed silent under Will's glare. I wanted to interrupt Will's talking and throw in one of my puns but since Will is the camp's healer, I didn't want to be left dying if I were injured just because of a bad pun.

When we reached the climbing wall, Will seemed to forget I was there, so I took my chance. "This is the place where I almost died this morning." I gestured to the wall. Caitlyn frowned at that, I had expected a laugh but I realised that it didn't sound funny.

"What do you mean you almost died?" Will asked me. He looked as concerned as Caitlyn was. I didn't want to go through the stares again. When I told them the story, I left out the part about Calypso and my visit to the Big House. Yep, I am guilty of lying, but it was for a good reason.

And...I may have exaggerated my heroic fall. I made it sound as if it were an entertaining movie about a superhero (me). When I finished, Caitlyn spoke up. " I bet you didn't want to die back then because you didn't want to miss out on my big welcome." I rejoiced, I thought I was the only person with humour at camp.

"Yes princess, I didn't want to miss out on your big entrance. It was simply splendid!" I said in my most posh voice. Caitlyn grinned and did a very clumsy pose, cute enough to make me laugh. Will glanced at both of us, looking lost. "Anyway, let's head on to Arts and Crafts." Will interrupted our little exchange. He walked ahead, leaving Caitlyn and me struggling to catch up.

"Oh, by the way, I'm on Team Leo." Caitlyn smiled. My heart did at least a hundred flips hearing that comment. "Of course you are! I mean, all da ladies luv Leo!" I assured her. She chuckled and ran towards Will, who was at least fifty metres ahead of us.

This is going well, I laughed and I ran towards them. I was too busy replaying that moment in my mind to hear anything Will was saying. I would normally blame my ADHD but this time, I didn't. I blamed Caitlyn.


	8. Chapter 8

Caitlyn

"Eeeeeeeeek! Pinch me this must be a dream!"

Oh my god! Oh my god! Wait, I'm not supposed to say that. I'm a demigod, I now have to act like one. My apologies, oh my gods! Oh, my gods! Oh, my gods! Much better.

This has to be a dream, but a dream I don't want to wake up from. The best thing happened to me, I met Leo Valdez! He was taking me on a tour around camp! Best day ever!

Before I was claimed, I saw all the demigods I had read in my favourite series. Well, most of them. I didn't see Jason, I still couldn't believe he died. It broke my heart when I saw Piper without Jason on her side. 

Of course, I didn't see Frank, Hazel or Reyna. I had forgotten they were from another camp, Camp Jupiter. I wanted to see Hazel though, she was one of my favourite characters. Though I was still confused about whether I could still call them characters, they were real.

But it was still the best day ever. I am staying in one of the best cabins, I have superpowers I haven't yet tested, but the best of all, I met Leo! I know I sound ridiculous but I was super excited.

Leo was my fictional crush ever since I finished Heroes of Olympus. He was funny, smart (though people said the opposite) and brave. Cute too, I could tell because he was in front of me. 

When I saw him looking at me while I was looking at him, I was embarrassed. I hoped he didn't notice my red face. His unruly hair helped me recognise him. When I first spotted him in the crowd, I remembered feeling like fainting.

I got to hear some of his puns. Each time I heard one, I smiled so much, I felt like a clown. At the beginning of the tour, I was expecting Leo to be shooting puns out like a cannon. But surprisingly, he didn't say much.

It was only when we reached his cabin, he started talking. I enjoyed how his mischievous eyes would gleam each time he made me laugh. His greasy shirt was distracting though, I wanted to throw it in the washer and hand him a clean shirt.

When we were at the climbing wall, Leo told us the incident that had happened to him in the morning. I knew he thought it was no big deal, but I thought otherwise. He was lucky he was immune to fire and heat, he would've died before I met him. 

We started joking around after that story. I am proud to say that Leo liked my joke! When I did my clumsy princess pose, he was laughing. Wow, I made one of the funniest demigods laugh. My heart fluttered when he walked beside me, occasionally looking at me and smiling. Will had walked ahead of us leaving me and Leo walking side by side.

I prayed that this wasn't a dream. This couldn't be, I could feel the afternoon breeze blowing my hair into my face. A dream couldn't be that realistic.

"I'm on Team Leo." I blurted out. I had no idea why I said that. Stupid me, stupid, stupid, stupid. "Of course you are. I mean, all da ladies luv Leo!" He responded giving me a cheeky smile. I couldn't stop myself from chuckling. I needed Will as company, he would make sure that I wouldn't do anything else stupid.

My eyes widened when I saw the Arts and Crafts centre. It was enormous! We went in and I could spot some Athena children weaving, constructing statues and sketching on big sheets of paper. This is amazing, I already love it here! Art was my life. 

Back home, I would draw a lot. I would doodle during class, colour in at home and I would always be observing possible things I could draw. I smiled when I remembered my room, I had my artwork covering every spot on the wall. The artworks made my room cosier and welcoming. 

"Ladies and gents, this is the Arts and Crafts centre. Home of yarn." Leo threw his arms up like a performer on stage. I cracked up, Leo had a wonderful ability to make me laugh, even at his worst puns.

Will lead us around the room. I was impressed by the amazing artworks being produced by the Athena children, they had so much detail. They clearly worked hard on their projects. I badly wanted to get my hands on some art materials and start on an artwork. 

I consciously started playing with my fingers, my hands needing to create something. Leo noticed my energy and he gestured towards an empty workspace. "Go ahead madam, I'll like to see what you can do." He did his famous mischievous smile that I always wanted to see. 

I didn't give it much thought, I dashed towards the workspace and my eyes darted around, looking for materials. I found some colour pencils and some textas. My hands had a mind of their own, they flew around the sheet of paper, leaving trails of lines behind them. 

For the first time in a while, I felt at peace. Without thinking, but feeling, I created a face. I wonder who it could be? I drew their eyes, their mouth, their nose. For some reason, I made their ears slightly pointy and I started on their hair, my favourite thing to draw. I drew wavy lines across their head, creating a nest of hair. 

After what felt like seconds, I started choosing colour pencils to use to colour in the figure. I didn't notice I had chosen brown, red or green. Within a blink of an eye, I finished. I froze once I realised who I'd drawn. Oh my gods, that was very stupid of me. 

Leo peeked from behind me and did a loud gasp. I tried my hardest to not scrunch up the piece of paper, that would be too obvious. "That's amazing Caitlyn, how did you do that?" Leo's eyes were wide in amazement. I wanted to sink into my chair and hide my face forever.

Will came over and saw what I drew. "Isn't that Leo?" He asked, looking very impressed. I knew I couldn't lie, why couldn't I have made fewer details and made it less obvious? "Yes, it is," I responded quietly. The drawing had captured Leo's face very well. His hands were in flames and he was doing his mischievous smile. 

"That is an amazing drawing, you could've given me some abs though," Leo remarked. Will rolled his eyes. Some Athena children gathered around us observing my piece. This can't be happening. I was blushing a lot and I kept my face down.

"Why'd you draw Leo?" One of the Athena kids asked. The girl next to him elbowed his arm and he winced. "Well, he encouraged me to draw, he was the first person I thought of." I lied. Leo and the Athena kids didn't seem to see through my lie, but I could tell Will didn't believe me.

Will noticed my embarrassment and rolled up the sheet of paper. "Amazing job Caitlyn, you should come often," Will handed me the roll of paper. "But we have to continue on with the tour." I followed Will to the door and we were back outside. 

"Thank you." I mouthed to Will when Leo wasn't looking. Will smiled and shrugged. We walked over the hill and went to the valley below.


	9. Chapter 9

Caitlyn

"My first camp-half blood shirt, yay."

Consider myself lucky that Will was able to swoop in and save the day. If it weren't for him, Leo would've known and I would've spent my days in my cabin, never going outside. But nothing happened, so I need to thank Tyche after this.

We inspected the rest of the camp with a few puns from Leo and a few glares from Will. When we were done, Leo went to the Forges and Will lead me towards our cabin. The gold walls shining on the cabin hurt my eyes as I walked towards the entrance.

Will occasionally looked at me sideways and when I gave him a questioning look, he would look busy staring at the sky. Why does he seem so tense? Is there spinach between my teeth? I rubbed my finger between my teeth. Nothing, but I wish WIll would stop looking at me like that. After a minute of this, I lost my patience. 

"Will! Stop looking at me as if I am a freak!" I lashed out. Will started chuckling as I stared back at him with disbelief. When he noticed the look on my face, he laughed harder. I rolled my eyes and stopped walking with my arms crossed.

"Sorry, Caitlyn. It's just that... It's best if I didn't tell you." He replied as he held his hands up in surrender.

"Tell me, Will, I don't like secrets."

"This is not a secret, it's just a thought!"

"If it's a thought, you can tell me!"

"You won't like it, Caitlyn."

"Tell me! I thought half-siblings tell each other everything!" I half-joked.

Will sighed with defeat and shook his head. "This is only a question so don't freak," Will replied cautiously. What is Will talking about? Nothing he would say would make me angry. 

I glared at him as he tried to fetch the right words. Will cleared his throat and asked, "Do you...like Leo?"

I felt my face burn up and I stared at the ground without responding to Will's question. Did I make it obvious? This can't be good, I'm going to hide under my bed, forever. 

"Do you?" Will asked me again. I can't lie to him, he knows when I'm lying. I took a deep breath, "Look if I acted as if I did... Yes, Will. I like Leo." 

Will smiled in triumph and raised his eyebrows. "May I ask why?"

I rolled my eyes. "Because he was my favourite character when I first read the Heroes of Olympus! It was my dream to meet such a funny and brave guy. He can build almost everything! I mean, he even fixed Festus! That's real talent. Since we're playing this game, may I ask why you like Nico?" I snapped.

Will smirked and made his way towards the Apollo cabin. "To answer your question, that is something personal. Secondly, I'm cool with you liking Leo. It's just weird you're head over heels on my friend."

He chuckled as if a funny thought struck him. "Valdiaz, I don't know about you, but... I ship it." My eyes widened and my face went red, again. "Stop, Will. You're gonna turn me into a tomato!" I joined him at the door.

Will turned the gold handle of the white wooden door and pushed the door open.

To be honest, the inside of the cabin wasn't at all glamorous as I had expected. There were some flowers in vases placed on window-sills and the wall had a few hooks for coats, but that was it. The rest of the room was white. I felt like I was standing in a white box painted completely white.

The cabin felt too plain, I did not like it at all. I'll admit this time, I was disappointed.

There were six bunk beds aligned on either side of the cabin with gold frames and white sheets. There was a door at the back of the room which I guessed led to the bathroom. The cabin smelled like clean linen and dried sage. Whether I liked it or not, this was where I was staying.

"Hey, guys! Come and welcome your new sibling!" Will shouted. After a few seconds of waiting, two heads popped out of the bunk beds. I recognised both of them from one of the books I read, The Hidden Oracle. 

"Austin Lake and Kayla Knowles, right?" I asked them. Both of them smiled and nodded, "So you read about us?" Kayla asked as she jumped off her bed, her dyed ginger and green hair bounced around her head. 

"Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Rick Riordan's books," I smiled, "But how does he capture all the action?" It was something that was on my mind since I had arrived at camp.

"He stalks us in a helicopter and when we have free time, he pulls us aside and asks us about the story in our point of view," Will informed me. It must be weird having someone trailing your every move like you're a celebrity. I decided I was never going to be famous.

Austin walked over to the window and pulled open the blinds, letting a ray of sunshine shine into the room. "Our dad would kill us if we didn't let the sun in once in a while." Austin rolled his eyes but smiled. 

"Are there any more campers in this cabin?" I asked, looking around the room. There was no evidence of any more campers. Kayla answered my question, "No, the rest left the camp to live in New Rome." She sighed, "This cabin can feel so lonely sometimes, we're glad we got someone else to join us."

"Glad to help you guys out!" I walked over to an empty bed and dropped myself on it. There was a flash of gold light that made me jump and slip off the bed. I landed on top of a box that was placed next to the bed. 

I slowly got up, clutching my stomach. "You alright?" Will asked his eyes wide open. I nodded and turned my attention back to the box. That piece of trash is what gave me a heart attack, great job box, you successfully scared me.

Feeling annoyed with myself, I kicked the box and the lid snapped up. My siblings surrounded me as I inspected the inside. I bent down and dug my hand in. 

I grabbed a piece of paper and I realised it was a note. It read in gold ink:

Hey Caitlyn,

It's me, your super awesome dad. I hope you have settled in with your siblings and that they're friendly with you. If they are not, I'll find a suitable punishment for them, regardless they're my children. I'm sorry I have lied to you for all of your life. I hope you find it in your heart that you can forgive me and your mum. 

Here is a box containing all of your belongings you left, I got them here for you. Don't worry, I even packed a demigod-friendly phone too. Feel free to use the extra things I packed for you. 

Love from,

Apollo (God of music, poetry, medicine, sun, light, art, prophecy, knowledge and other stuff I don't remember I am a god of)

P.S You have no idea how hard I resisted to not put one of my poems in here. For some reason, everyone hates my poems. But you need not miss out on my wonderful spectacular, here is one you can read.

Will had read along with me and up to there, he snatched the note from my hand and ripped it to shreds.

"What did you do that for?" I shouted, shocked that Will had done that. Will threw what was left of the note into the bin and turned to me "Don't under any circumstances read or hear any of our dad's poems. He is right, it is torture for us. Unless you want to go insane, don't read a poem of his." Austin and Kayla nodded as Will spoke.

"Well, thanks. But I don't know if I can forgive you for killing a piece of paper." I smiled. 

I looked into the box and rummaged through familiar things. I spotted something orange and dug it out of the box. It was a Camp Half-Blood shirt. My siblings were all smiling and they encouraged me to put it on.

I was bubbling with excitement and I jogged into the bathroom. I came out with the shirt on, fitting me perfectly. Thank you, Dad, I feel like I truly belong. I danced around the cabin with excitement as my siblings all applauded me.


	10. Chapter 10

Caitlyn

"My first week of doing something productive"

Let me make something clear, Camp Half-Blood is awesome, alright? But if you hate exercising and moving around, beware. I would categorise myself among those people. To be honest, training wasn't at all that fun.

The hardest for me was ancient Greek since I didn't have dyslexia, but I did have ADHD. Annabeth tried her best to get me to understand what she was saying but I always lost focus and when we did our quiz, I could only understand a few words.

But I slew Greek Mythology. Since I was a fan of Rick Riordan's books, I knew all the stories Grover was talking about. He didn't expect me to answer the question to the class about the story about Apollo and Daphne. 

Even if I am the daughter of the archery god, archery is hard! I couldn't even nock an arrow after at least 100 tries as Leo laughed at my pathetic attempts. Even Leo was better at me at nocking an arrow, that says a lot about my archery skills.

But what tortured me the most was unarmed combat. In the first class, I didn't even think of defeating my opponent, I only thought of not getting killed. Seriously, I would've gotten my head cut off if I weren't so focused.

The only camp activity that didn't involve the possibility of dying or failing, was strawberry picking and music class. 

Strawberry picking was easy and fun, especially with Leo and Piper. "I bet you can't pick 50 strawberries in a minute!" Leo challenged me, he held his basket up as he wriggled his eyebrows. "I accept!" Piper and I shouted together, not wanting to show any weakness. We all dashed off in different directions, plucking strawberries off their vines frantically. 

Leo came back with 36 strawberries and Piper came back with 49. Leo groaned once he found out that I had 57. "Good job girl. We both know how much Leo hates losing." Piper grinned as we both did a fist bump. I would never stop bothering Leo about my victory after that. Hey, I won my bragging rights, don't blame me.

Music class was a breeze, I only had to pick up an instrument and play it. I would always rush over to the piano since it was the instrument I was best at. "Show me what you can do with that." Leo walked over to listen. I raised my eyebrows and grinned, it was a chance to impress Leo. I played one of the most famous songs in piano history, Fur Elise. 

Leo watched my fingers dance around the keys with his mouth wide open. He looks cute with his mouth wide open. When I finished I stood up and bowed. "Show off," Leo sneered. I shrugged and walked over to the lyre. "You can play that ancient thing?" Leo asked, slightly surprised. "Don't call it ancient! You're hurting its feelings!" I pointed out and plucked some strings. "What can you play Leo? The Valdezinator is not an answer." 

He scoffed and went over to the drum kit. I raised my eyebrow as he picked up the drumsticks the wrong way. He started creating noise with the drums, hitting the cymbals each time he paused.

When he was done, I slow clapped as he bowed. "That was amazing, you should be the drummer for BTS." I joked as I took his place at the drum kit. "I know, I am the best drummer in the world and the hottest!" Leo smirked. I scoffed and started playing the drum kit.

Leo watched me with wide eyes but he tried to hide the amazement from his face. I ended the piece by hitting the cymbal and threw my hands up. Leo clapped enthusiastically "You may be a showoff, but you got talent!"

After each class me and Leo had together, we would head down to the beach to play volleyball with my siblings and some other demigods. Each time it was Leo's turn to serve, he would light the ball on fire, which would make all of us laugh.

After the end of the week, after a very long pegasi-riding class, I headed down to the beach to relax. No one else was there. 

I walked along the shore of the beach as I was in deep thought. The waves would tickle my bare feet as I started singing.

I was never the best at singing, but I enjoyed it. I sang the song as I looked at the warm sunset. I thought about my first week at camp and what a success it was. I had made friends with Leo Valdez and his friends, I got close to my siblings and luckily, I wasn't failing my classes. 

The wind blew my hair out of my face, making me feel at peace. I wish I could always be this happy. I sang with joy and my voice came out relaxed. 

Once I finished my song, a shadow approached me. Oh crap, someone had heard my horrible voice. I turned back to see my audience, it was other than Leo Valdez.

He had a huge smile on his face and was clapping loudly. "Caitlyn, you are the next generation Ariana Grande!" The wind blew his curly brown hair into his face, which Leo made a big show of. "Ack, I can't see the star!" Leo frantically shook his head.

I laughed as I reached my hand out to tuck Leo's hair out of his face. "Do you mean it? That I'm a good singer?" I asked him, expecting the bad answer.

"No Caitlyn, I didn't mean you were a good singer." Leo paused. "I meant that you were an amazing singer!" I rolled my eyes and smacked Leo playfully on his shoulder. He winced dramatically and rubbed his shoulder.

"Ow, that hurt." He complained. I chuckled and smacked his shoulder again, harder. "Deal with it." I retorted. 

"Hey, guys! Can I join in the fun?" Piper appeared on a cliff, her braid blew in the wind.

"Sure! If you want to die from Leo's puns!" I shouted back. Leo looked offended "Hey! I could just stuff you down the 'pipes'!" I rolled my eyes and shouted to Piper. "See? Terrible puns!"

Piper smiled and ran down. Leo waved at me and ran into the water with his hair on fire. I ran into the water with him, soaking myself, head to toe. Piper jumped into the water with us, spraying us with saltwater.

"Hey! You're paying for what you did!" Leo shouted and ran in Piper, making her fall into the water. Piper came back up laughing. At that time, Percy and Annabeth were walking across the beach heading towards us. 

Leo and Piper went still when they noticed Percy. "Don't move, if he notices us, you have no idea what he can do," Piper whispered to me. I couldn't help myself, "Hey Percy! These to guys want to drink more seawater!" Leo and Piper groaned and tried to run out of the water.

Percy grinned and raised his hands before Piper and Leo could make it to the shore. A huge wave built up in front of us, slowly getting larger. Once it was the size of a tower, Leo whimpered, "Tell the Olympians I love them." 

The wave crashed down on us, forcing us underwater. The water was cold against my skin and I struggled to get up, I was almost dead with laughter. After a few seconds, the water pushed me to the surface. Leo and Piper were struggling for breaths as water dripped from their wet clothes. 

"Curse you, Percy!" Leo shook his fist at Percy as he shivered. Percy and Annabeth were laughing on the shore as the three of us grumpily stomped onto the shore. Percy pointed to me "You asked for it, don't blame me!"

I could tell this was going to be a fun weekend.


	11. Chapter 11

Leo

"I had the best time of my life, for once"

Caitlyn flashed me a bright smile and walked back to the Apollo cabin with her shirt dripping. I smiled back and I jogged to my cabin with radiant energy. 

I walked to my bed and pressed a few buttons on the side of it. A whack-a-mole game popped out of the floor as I grabbed a hammer from my tool belt. Gaea's head popped out of the holes and I pinned her down every turn. 

When the game stopped, the floor opened up next to me with a bronze pole leading to the room below. I hugged the pole and slid down it like a fireman who didn't feel like putting out flames.

Once I reached the bottom, I walked over to the table, shivering as I went. I was still wet from the exchange between the ocean and my face. I was planning to prank Perseus Jackson for what he had done to my hair.

Perhaps I'll ask Caitlyn to help me... It was a good idea, I bet that girl can come up with better pranks than the Stolls! 

I was calculating my next move when a hole opened up with Caitlyn sliding down on it. Can this girl ever stop being so magical? I chuckled as she slid down the pole. "You hanging in there, madam?" I teased her, she jumped onto the ground with a frown on her face. 

"Very funny, repair boy. But we need to talk." Her eyebrows were raised and her arms were crossed against her chest. My definition of "We need to talk," was never a good thing. Most of the time, it was because I broke something or I pulled an evil prank on someone.

"Spill," I couldn't handle any form of suspense. Caitlyn sighed and put down her arms. Uh oh, Caitlyn sighing is never a good thing. Good thing I made some mental notes about being able to read her throughout the week. 

"Nyssa told me about your situation before I came here." I raised an eyebrow, I was pretty sure I had gotten myself into at least thousands of situations before Caitlyn had gotten here. "Sorry hun, but you need to be more clear." 

I noticed Caitlyn's clenched fists, she rarely gets angry. " I meant Calypso." She tensed, observing me with weary eyes. I took in a sharp breath and shook my head. "It's in the past now," I assured her, not meeting her eyes. 

"Leo, I can tell it's still affecting you." Caitlyn walked over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. Why do I have to talk about it? Caitlyn wasn't supposed to know about this. She looked at me with anger in her eyes. Her normally golden brown eyes were a grey-brown. 

"It's not your fault Calypso left you for some idiot." I wanted her to stop talking and dance around throwing flowers. Caitlyn took in a deep breath, calming herself down. "You can talk to someone about this, you know? You're surrounded by people who love you." She paused for a moment and continued. "Don't hold the grudge in. I want you to know that I will do anything to help you, anything." 

I started shaking and my head was filling up with harsh thoughts. But when I looked into Caitlyn's eyes, I suddenly stopped shaking and my thoughts evaporated. There's no point in mourning, she's never coming back. I got someone else to trust, maybe even getting really close to. 

I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding in. I glanced at Caitlyn, she was looking at me intensely, waiting for my reaction. "Anything?" I asked her with a mischievous grin playing at my lips.

Caitlyn groaned. "I shouldn't have said that. No Leo, I won't throw myself off a cliff to make you feel better."

I laughed and thought for a few seconds. "You could help me forget her," I answered. Caitlyn's eyes searched my face, but I could sense the relief in them. I could tell she was satisfied with my answer.

"Thank you for offering some help, but there's nothing you can really do. Except..." I glanced in the direction of the paper, sprawled over my desk. "You could help me pull a prank on Percy." Caitlyn laughed and nodded. "Anything for you, Captain." She smiled enthusiastically.

I was thankful Caitlyn had returned to her happy self. "What are you thinking of in that brain of yours?" I return her smile. She rubbed her chin and her eyes darted around the room. The longer she thought, the bigger her smile grew.

"What if..." She gave me an evil smile. "We'll do a bunch of pranks involving water, it only seems right after what he did to you." 

"You encouraged him."

"Shut up Valdez."

Her charm seemed to Shut my mouth. Caitlyn rolled her eyes and kept going, "One could be the classic shampoo trick. Then, we'll flood his cabin with water as he takes his shower, Annabeth is always complaining about how long he takes in the shower, so we'll have plenty of time. When he is eating, we'll ask one of the Hecate's kids to use the mist on him, he'll think he is eating food but everyone will see him eating seaweed!"

"Wow, girl you are a genius!" An idea popped up in my head. "And, we'll replace his bed with a bathtub full of water, it'll be too dark after the camp songs to see where he is putting himself into!" 

Caitlyn let out a laugh and high fived me. "Percy is in for a treat!" 

"A very wet treat!" I finished for her. 

I didn't know how long we were planning our pranks. But it was long enough that when we finished, we heard the horn, signalling dinner. I pretended to wipe sweat from my forehead and turned to her.

"You and I make a pretty good team," I blushed as I said that. "Come on over to Leo's Laugh House to elaborate on your genius ideas!" Caitlyn let out a chuckle and gave me a warm smile. "I will, you are pretty good at coming up with ideas, you're not dumb as everyone claims you are." 

We stood in awkward silence. I suddenly had an interest in the grease marks on the floor. "We better get going." She gestured to the roof. I nodded and walked over to a panel and pushed some buttons. A hole opened up and a ladder dropped down. 

"Thanks for the help Caitlyn, I would still be thinking about Calypso if it weren't for you." I have stopped thinking about Calypso ever since I laid eyes on you. She gave me a thoughtful look before she walked up to me. "No problem!" She stepped forward and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I could feel myself burning as she backed away. "What was that for?" I asked her, barely managing to not stutter. My heart was beating against my chest so hard, I thought the whole camp would feel it too.

"It's my business card for whenever you're in a love crisis." Caitlyn beamed and climbed up the ladder. I was left behind, stunned. I think I am in a love crisis, with you. 

I waited until my heart was under control and climbed up the ladder. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. It was going to be filled with laughter and Percy's surprised face.


	12. Chapter 12

Leo

"This is bad, worse than a burned taco." 

I woke up with the feeling of someone pulling the covers off me. "Ugh, if you want to get me out of bed, you need to lure me out with tacos." I groaned and reached for the blankets. 

"Leo! Wake up!" The voice said. I slowly opened my eyes to see Nyssa standing over me with a worried look planted on her face. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and gave her an annoyed look.

"This is urgent, Chiron needs to talk with you!" Nyssa dragged me out of bed with urgency. 

"If he needs me, he can come over and talk to me while I dream about flying." I yawned and slumped back down on my bed. Nyssa groaned, she looked as if she wanted to slap me.

I pulled the covers over my head to annoy her more. "I give up!" Nyssa declared. "Leo, Caitlyn has gone missing!" She blurted out.

I frowned. "You're only saying that to get me out of bed, she can't have gone. She loves the camp, especially the meals." Nyssa clenched her fist with frustration and looked as if she was ready to murder someone. She pulled back the covers and shouted at me. "No, Leo! I'm serious, you can check with her siblings if you don't believe me!" 

My heart dropped to my stomach and I suddenly felt sick. "There must be a mistake," I murmured. The look my sister gave hinted me that she was telling the truth. Nyssa helped me up because my legs suddenly felt like jelly. It must be a joke. Percy might've leaked the truth out of Caitlyn and decided to pull this prank on me. It might be evil, but it's the only logical explanation.

Nyssa walked me to the Apollo cabin and pounded on the door. Will opened the door and inspected us both with weariness. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was sticking out of his head. "Leo, I see you heard about it." He rasped. "Come on in."

There was a sense of dread and fear in the atmosphere of the Apollo cabin. The butterflies in my stomach grew bigger as walked in. Kayla and Austin looked devastated and looked shaken. The cabin looked darker, lonelier than the times I had visited Caitlyn here.

Will led me to Caitlyn's bunk, her bed was neatly made and her favourite soft toy was placed neatly on her pillow. But, no sign of the owner. Nyssa's grip on my wrist weakened as she started shaking. "So it's true," I managed to whisper. My mind went to an abrupt stop. "There was no note? Nothing?" Nyssa asked as her voice trembled.

"Well, there was this." Will turned around and pointed to the wall. I looked at where he was pointing, "Aw man, another evil person to defeat?" On the wall, was a note in Ancient greek that read, "If you want the daughter of Apollo, the most troubled one needs to come over and feed us." These words were burned into the wall as if someone used a torch and wrote this message with it because they had no pen or paper.

Everyone's heads turned to me as I was having a debate with myself on whether the person to look for her was Will or Piper. "What?" I asked them, then I realised I assumed the wrong thing. Whoever wrote this wants me to go after Caitlyn. I'm in most pain because Cailtyn's gone, and now, something wants to eat me.

I felt small under everyone's stares. I had the urge to shoot a fireball into the sky so that they could stare at it. "We need to take him to Chiron, now." Will clenched his fists. Nyssa nodded and pulled me out of the dark room.

Nyssa avoided eye contact with me as she walked beside me to the Big House. I didn't feel like talking, my mind felt numb and I felt I was only partly there.

Once I was seated on the couch in the Big House for the second time that week, Chiron galloped into the room looking very troubled. I got out some wires out of my toolbelt and started making something out of it. It was what I did when I was nervous.

"This is not good at all," Chiron sighed. "Someone is asking for you to go after Caitlyn because they want something from you." I looked up and clenched my fists. "Why take away Caitlyn then? Why not take me away?" I demanded.

Chiron sighed again. "They've used Caitlyn as bait, they want you to go after her. If they took you, it would be no fun for them to watch." I huffed, I hated it when villains get their way. Where could they have hidden Caitlyn? Was she okay?

I stood up from my seat. "I need to go on a quest to find her. I can't have her in the grasp of some evil beast!" Chiron nodded. " I agree with you, Mr Valdez. You may go to the Oracle now." I nodded and lifted myself off my seat without another word.

I walked to the cave on the top of Half-Blood Hill. Once I got there, I was panting from the hard climb. I walked deeper into the cave as I looked at the walls. All of them were paintings of Rachel's visons, she was almost as good as Caitlyn at painting.

Don't think about her, you'll get distracted. I sighed but my eyes fell on a drawing on the other side of the cave wall. It was a painting of someone who seemed to be Caitlyn. She had her eyes closed and she was hugging herself tightly on the earth as three shadows loomed over her. Is this where she is? Who were her captors? I noticed that her captors had very bad ways to manage their hair. 

"I see you've come over for a prophecy." I jumped. Next to me was the oracle, Rachel. She looked very tired and she had paint-splattered clothes. I cleared my throat and I pointed to the painting on the wall. "What is this?"

Rachel frowned. "I had the vision a week ago when Caitlyn arrived at camp"

"Is this happening now?"

"I can't tell, my visions are not clear about when or where it's happening."

"Well, that's just great. If only Apollo could make prophecies-"

I stopped in mid-sentence when I noticed Rachel's eyes flash green as the spirit of the Oracle took over her. 

"In the largest wildness in the country, you must venture through,

What you may find there will spear your heart with a silver arrow,

A hard decision a fair maiden shall make, her buddy or her crew,

Love will play a hard game, broken rules it won't allow,

The foursome will follow the path of grief, in the darkest of burials,

and its masters shall be fed, but who will the maiden heal?"

Green mist flowed out of Rachel's mouth as she spoke the terrifying words. On the last words, her eyes dimmed and she fell into my arms. I stared up at the image of Caitlyn and whispered, "This is not good."


	13. Chapter 13

Leo

"We're going on a Caitlyn hunt - to get ourselves killed!"

I held onto Festus tightly as I looked straight ahead. Angry thoughts bounced around in my head but I only had one goal in mind. Save Caitlyn.

Piper had worked out the first line of the prophecy when we had a small team meeting before leaving the camp. She thought we were supposed to go to the Tongass National Forest someplace in Alaska, she had contacted Hazel before answering. But I'm not giving her any credit, she cheated.

The place we were flying to, was the biggest forest in the country. I had typed in the location (I realised then it was enormous) in Festus' GPS and he seemed to know where he was going. 

Connor was annoying Piper behind me, probably saying dumb stuff (totally unlike me) He had angered Piper so much, she used her charmspeak to force him to seal his lips together. Sometimes, I love Piper's charmspeak but I hate it when she uses it on me. 

Throughout the journey, we were all quiet (Conner had his lips sealed, so he couldn't talk) It was uncomfortable driving Festus with nothing to keep my mind off Caitlyn, we occasionally almost crashed into birds but luckily, Piper would charmspeak the birds to get out of the way. 

I wasn't myself, I could tell by the looks my friends were giving me. I guess they expected for me to crack some jokes throughout the journey, but I didn't feel like it, not without Caitlyn around. 

I felt as if it were my fault she was gone, the monsters wanted me, not her. I remember feeling a void of blackness in my stomach as I held onto the equipment to prank Percy after I was assigned this quest because I knew that I can't do the prank without her. 

"Look out!" Piper shrieked, pulling me out of my thoughts. My eyes darted around looking for the danger when I saw a fireball, coming towards our direction. It blazed with extreme and it was going at least 100 miles per hour. I hated it when monsters interfere on quests.

"Duck!" I screamed. Festus heard and he swooped down, dodging the fireball. But there were other fireballs. This time, they were the size of houses. I cursed under my breath as Festus flew around the obstacles.

After the last one, we hovered in the air trying to look for the throwers. Underneath, it was all forest. Festus did a series of clanks, he was communicating with me in morse code. "Guys, Festus just said we are here," I told Piper and Conner. "Welcome to Tongass National Forest." 

Festus slowly flew down in case there were more fireballs to come. "What?" Piper groaned when Conner frantically tapped her shoulder. He was doing a series of hand gestures, he was pointing behind us. Piper sighed, "You can talk now."

Conner sighed, "Too late." I tried to make sense of his comment when something hit us. We went spiralling out of control with the ground coming towards us rapidly. The wind pushed me back making it hard to see the cause of the problem. I braced myself for impact when I finally had it. 

We landed with a loud crash, shaking the entire forest. Smoke trailed around the trees making my vision foggy. I slowly sat up knowing that I had bruises everywhere. "Is everyone okay?" I asked. The response was a series of groans and the attempt to get up. 

I looked behind me where Festus was lying and screamed once I saw his condition. He creaked and stirred but didn't seem to be able to get up. I ran over to him and inspected his wing, the fireball had dented it, leaving a black burn. 

There were scorch marks all over his bronze armour. "Festus buddy, will you be able to fly?" I asked him praying for a good answer. Festus creaked and groaned, he said no. I needed to repair him, if only they weren't in the middle of the woods. 

I dug my hand inside my toolbelt and got out a piece of cloth, I wiped his wing, needing it to be clean so I could fix it. "Leo, we need to go. Someone's coming after us." Piper warned me. I turned around to see the bushes rustling on the other side of the clearing. 

Low voices were now heard, it was a group of monsters. Their conversation sounded like growling as if they were hungry. I glanced at Festus, "Will you be okay?" Festus' red eyes gleamed as he told me he was going to be fine. 

Before I could stand up, a group of Cyclops came into view. Conner took a step back as he muttered under his breath how much he wished these Cyclops would be as nice a Tyson. Apparently, they were not. They carried catapults with rope as they stormed towards us. 

They were the ones that were aiming the fireballs at us. I tried to stand tall, I survived an explosion anyway. But I was pretty sure I looked like a mouse trembling underneath a cat's claw. 

The Cyclopes sneered at us as they clenched their fists. "Hello demigods, I hope you're ready for lunch." The biggest Cyclops growled. Conner and Piper looked as if they were ready to fight. I didn't know what to do, Cyclops were immune to fire. 

But I didn't realise that at the moment. I summoned a fireball in my hand, ready to throw. "Fool, we are immune to fire, we once worked in scorching Tartarus!" The big Cyclops jeered. I really hated Cyclops.

Once, some Cyclops captured Piper and Jason when we were on our way to free Hera from her cage. Let me just say, it was not a fun experience. A small Cyclops took a small step forward and pointed his beefy finger at me, " Isn't that the one that killed Sump when Ma Gasket was hiding out in a factory?" 

Piper and I paled, these guys were going to kill us for sure. Before I realised it, I shouted, "Run!" These guys didn't need telling twice, we all dashed deeper into the forest. I felt guilty for leaving Festus behind, but my main focus was not getting killed, like always. I could hear stomping not far behind me, the Cyclops were catching up.

I tripped over a root of a tree, causing me to fall to the ground. Pain rose in my ankle, making it hard to stand up. I limped forward, trying hard to run fast. But it was too late, I could hear the growling of the hungry Cyclops, only a few feet away. Sweat dripped down my face as I forced myself forward, desperately trying to get away. 

"Gotcha!" The growl behind me sent up a chill across my body. I tripped over again on a rock, bracing myself for the cub to swing down. When I expected to hear the crunching of my bones, I felt a quick breeze go past my ear. I opened my eyes to see a silver arrow dug deep in the Cyclop's stomach as he fell backwards with a loud crash.

I sighed with relief as lifted myself off my knees, ready to stand up. The pain in my leg got into the way, it hurt so much I fell back, into someone's arms. My vision went blurry as I looked into the face of my saviour. 

She had a silver puffer jacket with a quiver full of silver arrows paired up with a silver bow. She looked like she belonged to the Hunters of Artemis. But most important of all, she had recognisable brown eyes with gold sparkling in them. Her golden-brown hair trailed down her shoulders, gently touching my forehead.

Her soft touch made me want to cuddle up just then. The pain in my ankle burned me like never before. I searched the face of the girl, as if I were returning to an old home, I knew where I was going. Her mouth moved but I couldn't hear her voice, I could only hear ringing in my ears.

A thought crossed my mind when the forest started getting darker. "Caitlyn?" I whispered gently to the girl holding me. Then everything went black.


	14. Chapter 14

Caitlyn

"There was a feeling, a feeling I couldn't get rid of."

I sat silently next to his bed, trying to collect my thoughts. My eyes would always go back to his peaceful face, but I would always force myself to look away. I had a feeling nudging at my gut, one I was trying to ignore but I couldn't seem to get rid of it. 

He wasn't alone when he arrived, he was accompanied by a girl with choppy mahogany hair and an annoying boy with curly chestnut hair. They both stared at me with surprise once they saw me, they both looked familiar, but I couldn't recall seeing them before. 

As for the boy lying in bed next to where I was sitting, he had said my name before falling unconscious. I couldn't bear think of it but, that moment when I was holding his sleeping body, my heart kept fluttering. I didn't know what it meant, but I had to shut out that feeling. 

Lady Artemis would kill me if I told her... I sighed, stopping my thoughts from elaborating. Just then, I was struggling to breathe when I looked in the face of the Latino. His unruly locks kept falling to his eyes, making me want to tuck it back but I would remind myself it wasn't necessary. 

The other Hunters had refused to look after him as he rested, for some reason, I had put my hand up without thinking. If only someone else could keep me company, I could stop having weird thoughts about the boy.

He turned in his sleep and smiled as if he was having a good dream. I stared at him, wondering how on earth he could seem so peaceful, so cute. Woah, where did that come from? I turned myself away, feeling betrayed. I know him, a thought nagged me, I recognise that smile. 

My brain hurt from thinking of places he could've come from but nothing came up. I couldn't even remember anything before when I first became a Hunter of Artemis, only a few days ago. The other hunters had tried to help me restore my memories, but nothing helped. They kept whispering to each other behind my back. Something about Jason and Hera all over again? I wasn't sure.

I heard a groan from behind me, a lovely sound to my ears. He was close to awaking up. I turned to his troubled face, still sleeping. I imagined he was having a bad finish to his dream. Just when I was going to leave to tell the others, he started whispering my name.

At first, I thought he was wide awake and was calling for me. I walked to his side to find he was still dreaming. My stomach turned into a knot as he called for me, not knowing what to do. He sounded frightened and his voice was filled with despair. 

I wanted to cry out loud, tell him I was here and that I was alright. How did he know me then? Who was he? I didn't know why I was having these thoughts, these feelings. I was so confused. Leo groaned again, with a terrified look on his face. Leo, that was his name. 

I needed information, now. My hand found his way onto his shoulder and I started saying his name, trying to snap him out of his dream. I shook him hard until his chocolate coloured eyes snapped open. "Caitlyn? How can you be here?" Leo asked in a whisper.

A frown crawled onto my face. Why did he doubt I was there? So many questions I needed to ask him since it seemed like he knew me. I decided to push those questions away for another time, there were other important things to do. 

"Hey, I'm alright. I'm completely the opposite of the Caitlyn in your dream." I assured him, trying to calm him down. He paled as I said that. I sighed, searching for the right words so that I wouldn't scare him away. 

"Here, have some Ambrosia." I handed him a bite and with a look of confusion, he took it. "You hurt your ankle but one of the Hunters treated it. You should be okay-"

He interrupted me with a sarcastic tone. "Caitlyn, the camp was all rainbows and flowers when you were gone. Where have you been?" I pulled myself back, I was gone? From where? I clutched onto my head trying frantically to remember, no luck. 

Leo observed my outfit. "You're one of those silver war machines aren't you?" He looked up at me, clearly hurt. I didn't know what to say, so I nodded. I felt as if I were doing something wrong when I saw the look of disappointment cross his face.

I couldn't take it in anymore, I was too confused. "What's going on? Who are you? How do you know me?" These questions shot out of my mouth before I could stop them. Leo had his mouth open in surprise trying to process what I said. "You don't remember me? You and I, we were..." Leo paused trying to come up with a good word. " Close friends. You know? As in fight monsters back to back as we crack jokes kind." 

Close friends. Those words caused a lump to form in my throat. Close friends, that's what we were? I expected something more than that, but at least I had an answer. " Well, that answers one question, answer the rest por favor? " I impatiently asked Leo.

Leo cocked his head to one side, "Princess, I don't recall giving you a class on Spanish." I frowned, not expecting that response, "I don't remember, I guess I'm of a Hispanic origin." As usual, when I was close to finding something from my past, it slipped away. It was true, some Spanish phrases would form in my head in some situations. Sometimes I would curse in Spanish so that none of the Hunters would hear. But, I also knew Portuguese, so from where was I? Portugal and Spain?

"You never told me that." Leo muttered, "I feel like there was stuff you didn't tell me back at camp," I froze, these words caused my chest to hurt. He continued, "I mean, when Percy lost his memory he remembered Annabeth, but what sort of friend am I if you don't remember me?"I felt as if I bumped into a wall with a lot of force. I swallowed a cry, I didn't know why I felt so hurt. 

"I-I need to tell the others that you're awake." I knew sounded a little upset but inside, I was worse. "Rest well, Leo." I stepped out of the gigantic tent walking away from someone who supposedly knew me. I ignored the surprised gasp coming from inside. Even if I didn't completely remember Leo, his words made me dizzy. Being next to him made me feel something I was forbidden to feel.

I ended up in the middle of the trees away from where we set up our camp. I felt pathetic, the trees loomed over me, laughing at my weak self. I could hear shrill laughter ringing in my ears. I clutched my ears as I dropped myself to the ground.

"Good job my child, we shall feed soon," The whispering voices rasped. I forced my hands harder against my ears. No one would leave me alone, for some reason. I wrapped myself in a ball, trying to drown the voices out and trying to shut the world out.


	15. Chapter 15

Caitlyn

"My Lady, I don't know what to do." 

My feet squished as I moved through the muddy campsite. I honestly didn't know how to react to Leo's comment before. But I knew that I had to do something. Some hunters gave me encouraging smiles and others pretended to be busy but would glare in my direction.

I took a deep breath and kept my eyes forward with my shoulders back. These hunters didn't understand what I've gone through in the last few days. I shivered when I remembered the times I had raspy voices talking to me. I didn't realise they were in my head until Thalia said she didn't hear anything when the voices began. 

Voices were heard from where I was walking, then I heard my name. Curious, I walked over to the tent I heard the voices from and peeked through the crack without being noticed. Piper and Leo were sitting next to each other discussing something in urgent voices. 

"Leo, I know something's wrong. You can't hide all your life!" Piper urged. She looked frustrated and a little stressed.

Leo said nothing. After a while of thought, he sighed. He stood up and started pacing the room with a troubled look. "You're right, it's Caitlyn. This changes everything, she won't be able to be friends with me cause I'm a boy."

"It was a hard blow. I'm sorry you don't agree with her but it was her decision."

"I know. But it means that I can't take a ch- I mean, her pledge won't let her be near me."

"Tell her how you feel about it, maybe she can do something about it?"

"Yeah, right. She would choose super hot chick friends over a guy like me -"

"Hold on! I think the prophecy mentions something about a decision, A fair decision a fair maiden shall make, her buddy or her crew! It fits, we could move on our quest once she chooses!"

I pulled back from the crack. A prophecy? About me? But, who would I choose? If that line was in the prophecy then, my decision will affect the whole quest. Leo didn't say anything about a prophecy, much less a quest. 

Autumn leaves floated around me as I made my choice. It wasn't clear, I didn't know what to do, I didn't want to make the wrong choice. I shut my eyes thinking of the pros and cons when an image of a valley crossed my eyes.

It looked like a camp, all the cabins were in a U shape on a fresh green lawn. I could see a range of stations, mainly for combat training. Over to my left, I could picture a wall with lava cascading through its deep cracks flowing through. On my right, I saw a blue lake with a few campers on canoes.

When this place was broadcasted onto my brain I thought of one word. Home, that's what this place is. I needed to go there. Right then, after so many conflicts against each of the choices, I had made my decision. Hopefully, no one would get hurt.

I knew what I had to do. I darted to the big silver tent in the centre of all the tents. I took a shaky breath as I started jogging wanting to make the process go faster. Everyone turned their heads in my direction but I didn't care, I never did.

My hand yanked back the flap as I scurried in. In the centre was a large rug made of bears skin. On the walls were more prizes of animals that had been hunted, their eyes following my every step as I approached the middle. 

Thalia was discussing something with the Lady until she saw me. Her bright blue eyes sharpened as she saw my posture and she stepped aside revealing a girl kneeling on the rug. She looked at the age of 13 with auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her bright eyes searched me with interest as she gave me a look I couldn't decipher.

The girl sitting in front of me, was our lady, the goddess Artemis. She held a silver arrow in her hands turning it around in her hands as she looked up at me. It didn't feel natural standing taller than a goddess, so I went down on one knee.

"My lady, I got to tell you something." My voice shook a little as I finally felt the strong aura coming from her. Artemis regarded me, "Spill."

"I - I don't belong here. I belong someplace else, someplace I still remember as home."

"Caitlyn, you do belong. You're a strong archer with wonderful reflexes. We are lucky to have someone like you to fight alongside us."

"Thank you. But, I can't be a hunter anymore."

Thalia sucked in a breath and her shoulders tightened. Artemis only sighed, "I knew this would happen." 

"How did you know? Do you have telepathy or something?"

"No, I know because I knew you would question your decision as you didn't have a memory back at the time."

"You're right. I doubt my decision now."

"Why do you doubt it?"

I froze trying to think. Why don't I want to be a hunter? Unbelievable, I decide on resigning from the hunters and I couldn't think of a reason why. Artemis studied me with hard eyes as if trying to read my mind. I shuffled on my feet forming my words.

"I belong somewhere else. I need to help the demigods that arrived yesterday on their quest, I know I'm meant to be a part of it. " I tried not to meet the goddess' eyes. 

Artemis and Thalia fell silent. I felt like an art display placed in a museum and they were criticizing me. At last, Artemis gave me a small smile and offered me her pale hand. 

I didn't know exactly what to do. I shuffled towards the goddess and placed my hand into her cold hand. Artemis closed her eyes and power started radiating off her hand. It seeped into my arm and I gasped when the warmth made my skin crawl. 

"This young girl shall be relieved of her duty. She is to turn her back from me. She must accept she shall no longer be immortal and will resign from the hunt." I felt the warmth stripping off me. I felt cold becoming mortal again. When Artemis finished, I felt exhausted. My arms ached and my head was throbbing with pain. 

"T-thank you." I managed to say. I felt uncomfortable wearing the gear I now didn't need.

"Go. Your decision has been made and there is no turning back. You must face the consequences." Artemis waved me off. Consequences? I fled the tent avoiding the rest of the hunters. I didn't realise there was a punishment for wanting to resign from the hunt. 

Anyway, at least I could help Leo and his friends on their quest. I knew I would play an important role though I didn't have a wonderful feeling about it. I walked through the campsite when I collapsed. 

My head started pounding and something flashed across my eyes. I groaned in pain and tried to pull myself off the ground, but my arms failed me. I collapsed onto the mud when a vision filled the void of darkness.

I was standing in a place that radiated fear. Everything seemed grey and I could make out screaming in the background. It sounded like, Leo. I looked panicked and glanced in both directions as if deciding what path to choose. I had tears running across my face as I clasped my hands against my head as I fell to the ground.

No, this can't be. That never happened. Could I be seeing, the future? The screams echoed in my ears as I trembled on the ground. I could hear someone saying my name but it sounded distant an echo. I focussed on my breathing as I felt someone drag me up to reality.


	16. Chapter 16

Caitlyn

"A whole new world... A terrifying place I honestly don't know"

"I'm joining you guys." I flinched expecting my comment to be rejected with a series of cries. But silence was all I could hear. I learned that the girl with choppy mahogany hair was Piper and the boy with freckles and the mop of chestnut hair, was Connor. 

Leo was sitting on the bed, distracted and Connor and Piper stood on either side of him as if they were his bodyguards. As I said it, I shifted uncomfortably in my jeans. I was able to change before coming to the tent. 

Piper looked confused and Connor went red. But Leo sat on the mattress, still ignoring me. They didn't get the message. I groaned, "How can I get in your heads? I left the Hunters of Artemis to join your quest thingy!" 

Leo's ears perked up as he heard this and looked at me with bewilderment. The two boys stood with their mouths hanging wide open. I glanced at Piper to find that she had a bright smile playing at her lips. "Welcome aboard! We are happy to have you back." Piper grinned. "Boys, that's not the way to welcome someone to our team!"

The boys muttered a few comments when silence filled the room again. "We better get going. Piper, Connor you can get some supplies from Thalia." I held open the tent flap as Piper and Connor shuffled through. I heard Connor say in a low voice so only I could hear, "Good luck with grumpy-boy." I forced the flap down on Connor's head and abruptly turned to Leo.

I opened my mouth, about to force Leo to explain to me why he was acting so strange. Before I could say anything, he asked me, "Why did you resign from the Hunters?" I kept myself from pulling my hair out as everyone was asking me that question. I explained to him that I did it to go back to Camp Half-Blood and a bunch of other small reasons. 

His smile grew as I explained my reason to him. "You resigned because you missed me? Awww, I didn't know I was worth it." Leo batted his eyes playfully. I snorted at Leo's response. Judging from Leo's face, he could dance right then. 

Piper and Connor ducked into the tent carrying some bags. "Here is some nectar, ambrosia, food-" Leo interrupted Piper, "Who needs food when you got the Tofu Taco Master Chef here?" Leo pointed to himself. 

Piper faced me as she rolled her eyes as if saying, "Leo's back to his old self..." I giggled and clapped my hands together. "Okay, we need to go now. Uh, how did you guys get here?" 

Leo smirked, his eyes gleaming "That's where the fun begins..."

I gasped when I saw a beautiful bronze dragon stomping majestically around the clearing. Thalia patted the dragon's head and ran over to us, her clothes were dirty with grease, "He's good as new, our best mechanics got him oiled and fixed." 

Leo laughed as he ran over to his beloved dragon, "Festus! You're okay! I was so worried about you buddy!" Festus responded with a series of clanks and cuddled against Leo. The scene made my heart warm and I noticed how his dark chocolate eyes shone and his impish smile made my stomach churn... Focus Caitlyn, you got a quest to complete.

I crept towards Festus, observing his ruby eyes that lit up brighter than the headlights of a car. He creaked softly as I placed a hand on his head, feeling his sleek gold and bronze armour. "He seems to like you." Leo pointed out. My cheeks flushed as I put my hand away.

"He likes oil and Tobasco," I muttered, I stood in astonishment as I realised what I said. I searched my mind for where that thought came from, but everything felt dark in my mind. I groaned in frustration. 

Leo glanced at me but didn't say anything. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards Festus' back. I gazed at our linked hands feeling blood rush to my face. Leo's hand felt cosy and I smiled to myself. The feeling dissolved when Leo released my hand.

"Hop on, princess." Leo climbed up Festus' back and offered me a hand. I took it without a doubt. I slipped on the metal as Leo pulled me up. I managed to slide behind Leo and waited for Piper and Connor to get up. When everyone was ready, Leo commanded Festus to take off.

Festus' wings flapped and we slowly rose from the ground. I felt the breeze blow my hair off my face and the sun shone in my face. We rose up so suddenly, I almost slipped off, luckily Piper put me in place and whispered in my ear, "You do realise, you need to hold onto Leo." She teased.

I stared accusingly at her and placed my hands on Leo's shoulders. I looked back at Piper to find her grinning uncontrollably. My eyelids drooped and I let a yawn escape my mouth. "You need to rest." Leo looked back at me.

I nodded and let my eyes close. I was unaware that I had wrapped my arms around Leo's waist and I placed my head on his back. All I could feel was warmth as I breathed slowly. I drifted peacefully off to sleep, this time without nightmares.

My body screamed with pain as I opened my eyes to a cloudy sky. I winced as I stood up and looked around me. We were surrounded by trees and right ahead, there was a little cottage. I couldn't tell that anyone was home.

Festus was groaning and was lying on the muddy ground with his wings twisted and damaged. I gasped in shock and ran to him, checking whether he could move. 

All I could remember was hearing someone screaming, "Not again!" and I opened my eyes to find the ground rushing up to my face. I remember feeling someone wrap their hand around mine and screaming in my ear. 

I swallowed as I saw the damage in Festus' wires. I sighed and patted his neck as I waited for everyone else to wake up. After a while, I heard a groan. I jumped out of my spot and rushed to the sound to find Leo struggling to sit up. 

I limped towards him and helped him sit up. His eyes landed on Festus and he yelped. He scrambled onto his feet and ran over to Festus as I walked around the clearing checking whether Piper and Connor were okay.

I went through our supplies when my head started throbbing. I tried to ignore it and kept going, but at some point, I dropped to the ground as I groaned in pain. I could hear Leo's footsteps going after me, but it seemed distant. My ears were ringing and another vision flashed before my eyes. 

This time, I was surrounded by gravestones. Whispers flew around me, but I was unable to make out what they were saying. The dirt crunched as stepped forwards, a bony hand grabbed my ankle and started dragging me down into the ground with it. I screamed and grabbed for a hand but it was too late, the ground swallowed me whole.

My eyes snapped open to a very worried Leo staring at me. Sweat trickled down my face as I gasped for air. Leo quickly handed me a bottle of nectar, "Caitlyn are you okay? You scared the Bad Boy Supreme half to death! And that's a rare case." I nodded weakly and tried to get up, but only managed to fall into Leo's arms.

I stifled a gasp of surprise and blood drained from my face. "You don't look very good, perhaps one of my herbs can help?" A voice called out from my side. I looked away from Leo's face and saw a girl walking up to us. She had caramel hair in a plait that swayed over her shoulder, her almond-shaped eyes hardened when she saw us.

"I see you've fallen out of the sky again, just to see me." She raised an eyebrow. Now, it was Leo's turn to look sick. Before he lost balance I placed an arm to support him. I widened my eyes, hoping he would explain. 

Leo took a shaky breath and replied, "Caitlyn, this is my ex-girlfriend." He paused, trying not to make eye contact with me. The name he whispered was familiar and it stirred a pool of dislike, "That's Calypso, daughter of Atlas, a heartless girl."


	17. Chapter 17

Leo

"My life has officially become a Twilight novel"

I sat in silence, sipping my hot chocolate. But I wasn't paying much attention to it, my stomach felt hard as a rock. I glanced over to were Caitlyn was. She looked okay, but she would occasionally glare at Calypso then go back to staring at her beverage in her hands. 

There was tension in the room and luckily, Connor was the one to break it. "Nice house you've got here." He looked highly uncomfortable and he would glance at Caitlyn, I would feel a knot in my stomach each time he did this. Calypso placed down a tray of cookies and gave him a weak smile. But I could see her roll her eyes as she turned around to walk back to the kitchen.

"How's Festus?" Piper made eye contact with me. I sighed as I shook my head, "His wires snapped and he has so many dents that he won't be able to move normally for a while. What happened was as we flew, he had so much power surging through the wires and they were incredibly weak when... BAM we fell." 

Caitlyn looked as she finally understood and she slumped down onto her couch. Calypso came a second later with some tissues and handed them all over to Connor. It was no surprise as Connor had chocolate all over his mouth. He gave her a sheepish smile as she forced it down on his lap and stormed off towards me. 

When she placed herself beside me, alarm bells started going off in my brain. Why would she even bother helping us? She'd treated me like dirt, what changed? I tensed in my spot and I could tell Calypso noticed. She gave me a frown and scooted closer to me. 

Caitlyn watched this display with a look of disapproval, "Where's your boyfriend? I saw some pictures of you and another guy around the house." She asked. I thanked her silently and scooted away from Calypso as she thought.

"He dumped me because he said that I was using him, but I don't understand what he meant by that." Calypso shrugged as if it were no big deal. I felt as if someone dropped a stone in my stomach. I had the realisation that Calypso might've been using me, perhaps to rescue her off her island. I had a metallic taste in my mouth as bitter thoughts clouded my brain.

"But, I've been missing someone very much. I had missed his smile and jokes..." Calypso turned to me and stared intensely into my eyes. Her hand delicately touched my fingers and her cinnamon scent hit me. Don't fall into her trap... I snatched my hand away and stood up.

Everyone stared at me as I stalked off to check on Festus in the workshop. I especially made sure that I slammed the door behind me. I growled in frustration as I paced to the large cabin. I slid the wooden doors open as I rushed into the workshop. My face felt hot in anger and my hair started smoking. 

My fists clenched so tight my knuckles turned white. I hated it, I wanted to hate Calypso and yell into her face to explain how much she hurt me. But, I felt something deep beneath my anger. What has she ever done for me?

I absentmindedly started grabbing tools and my hands did all the work. I had other more important things to worry about anyway, Festus was incredibly weak and only I could fix him. We needed to get out of here, to continue on our quest, to get away from Calypso. 

I heard footsteps from outside, its pace unsure. Calypso... I stopped the drill and turned silent as my ear strained to hear Calypso. I saw her shadow from beneath the door, it hovered there, silent. I willed myself not to make a sarcastic comment and stared.

After what felt like forever, she turned and fled back to the house. I stood there, breathing slowly. Had she come to check up on me? I doubted it, she was a nasty, demonic... Festus interrupted my thoughts when he creaked.

I wasn't going to win a medal if I stood here doing nothing. The drill was back on and I continued to work on Festus.

I opened my eyes to see darkness. Wait, there was a shadow hovering in front of me, looking at me. I yelped in surprise and held a wrench in front of me, ready to hit them on the side of the head. I put the wrench on fire for extra effect. 

"Leo, a flaming wrench won't stop me from slapping you from being so idiotic." The person remarked. Just in case it wasn't a cyclops, I put the wrench over the person's face to find it was Caitlyn's beautiful face.

"I knew that." I put the fire out and put the wrench in my toolbelt. Caitlyn handed me a torch as she observed the workshop. "Looks like you've been busy." She nodded towards the spot where I was sleeping. 

"I wasn't sleeping! I was only... uh... resting my eyes!" I tried to pull off my most innocent expression. Caitlyn looked unimpressed but I knew she was hiding a smile. "Anyways, everyone's waiting for you back at the house. I bet a bed is better than sleeping on a workbench."

I sighed, unwanting to meet Calypso back there. Without saying anything, I lit my torch and made my way through the mess of machines and mechanical parts. I heard Caitlyn yelp from behind me with a series of crashes just as I yanked the heavy wooden door open.

I swerved to Caitlyn to find her on the floor with a bloody gash running across her leg. Caitlyn winced as she tried to get up but I forced her down onto the floor. I shook my head, trying to tell her that it was no use getting up by herself.

My hands dug into my toolbelt trying to grab hold of something. Ah-ha! I dug out a wrap of bandages and started to wrap it around her knee. My heart pounded as my hands fiddled with the bandage, occasionally touching Caitlyn's skin. 

Caitlyn peered at me as I worked on her knee. When I was done, I looked at her with satisfaction. "It's not polite to stare and not say thank you, you know?" I remarked. She looked at me with shock but she had a faint smile playing at her lips. Her pink lips parted as if going to say something.

I realised where I was looking so I forced my gaze away and told her, "I'm going lift you up because I'm such a gentleman." She looked as she was going to protest but my hands were already on her waist. My face felt hot as I tried to lift her off the ground.

After a few failed attempts, Caitlyn started giggling. "You're not such a gentleman after all!" She giggled more. I looked at her in annoyance and I finally lifted her off the floor. I started celebrating at the wrong time. 

Caitlyn's weight pushed me backwards and soon, we were on the ground in a heap. Caitlyn let out a laugh and soon enough, we were both laughing. Caitlyn's eyes were gleaming against the darkness and my hands were at my side, helpless. 

When the laughing stopped, I suddenly realised our faces were close. I held my breath as I smiled and pulled my face closer to hers. She followed my lead and her face relaxed in the illuminating darkness. I counted her soft breaths as she neared. We were only inches away when I heard a click from behind my head.

Caitlyn scrambled away from me and stared behind me. I turned my head as I saw an opening in the wall filled with darkness. A trapdoor? In here? Caitlyn picked up the torch which was thrown on the floor and shone it through the tunnel. 

But I couldn't stop thinking about what took place only a few moments ago. Had we really almost... No. I pushed the thought away, she wouldn't like me, no way. I'm just a repair boy who everyone finds annoying. 

Trying not to think about what happened only moments ago, I stood up. The gnash on Caitlyn's knee didn't seem affecting her as she stood. We glanced at each other and we immersed ourselves in darkness.


	18. Halloween special

"Caitlyn, what's taking you so long? We're going to miss out on the whole night!" Leo groaned. He had his iron-man costume on which was incredibly uncomfortable. "Patience child!" Caitlyn called out from the other side of the door.

Leo tried everything, he had called out "Fire!" to get Caitlyn moving, he turned on the audio of a monster growling, the funniest one yet, he pretended to sound like Chiron but that girl was stubborn, she wouldn't budge from behind the door. 

Just as he was going to get Will to come over, the door opened from behind him. "I should've guessed you would dress up as a Marvel character." Caitlyn started laughing when she noticed Leo's helmet. 

Leo, on the other hand, was speechless. Caitlyn had a bronze helmet on her head with glowing red eyes. She had metal bronze wings spread out at her sides making her look like an angel. To Leo, she was. She had armour around her body including bronze sabatons. 

Her face brightened up her costume and to Leo, she looked like the warrior she was. "Woah, it's the first time you've ever gone silent." Caitlyn joked. Leo straightened himself, "Oh, no. Your costume rocks up the place!" Leo gave himself an imaginary slap for being such an idiot.

Caitlyn took no notice of this and she held out her arm. "Didn't you say they were just about to leave?" Leo grinned with embarrassment, "You took so long! So long, I feel like I'm eighty!" Caitlyn rolled her eyes but Leo walked her out of her cabin to the campfire.

Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Frank and Hazel were waiting for them with their bags ready to be filled with candy. Caitlyn let out a laugh once she realised Percy was dressed up as a fish. "Hey there, Water boy!" Leo waved at Percy, "Wow, you've definitely dressed your part!" Percy scowled at him, "Look who's talking, you dressed up as Fire-man!" 

Leo snorted, "Yeah, but my costume is a lot cooler than yours! Watch this!" Caitlyn grinned, knowing what Leo was planning. Leo flew up with sparks of blue fire shooting out of his hands and feet. Leo flew around them until Leo was satisfied that Percy was annoyed. 

"Annabeth, you're free to slap this guy. I've been stopping you." Percy bluffed as Leo got back down onto the ground. Annabeth looked tempted but Caitlyn was relieved she had resisted. 

"Are we just going to stand around and not get candy?" Caitlyn asked. Everyone let out yells of protest as they walked towards the highway towards the city.

Caitlyn whispered to Leo, "I bet you won't get as much candy as I will!" Leo protested, "Nah hon, I won't let you!" He shoved Caitlyn playfully and ran ahead of the group. "Wait up!" Caitlyn followed at lightning speed.

Meanwhile, Percy, Annabeth, Piper and Frank were forced to run after them. Piper asked them, "When are those two going to get together?" Frank replied, "When Leo stops being such a coward." Everyone chuckled. Hazel raced ahead, "Come on! If those two get to kiss, I want to be there to see it!"

Everyone agreed as they raced towards the streets filled with chatter and excitement. Everyone agreed that it was going to be a great night, hopefully without needing to fight monsters.


	19. Chapter 19

Leo

"A witch's cave, not creepy at all."

"How ya doing?" Caitlyn peeked behind her. Her face was unreadable, I couldn't tell whether she was thinking about what took place only a few moments ago. "What did you say? I can't hear you, it's too dark in here!" I flailed my arms around to add extra effect. Caitlyn snorted as she lit the bright torch into my face.

"Better now? I'm so smart aren't I?" She asked. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to be blind, "Better than ever! You should go to medical school for being so smart." Caitlyn turned the light beam away from my face as she made a big scene of rolling her eyes.

We trudged on ahead, and I would occasionally stumble over the uneven dirt ground. Curse you Hades. We walked on for what felt like hours, which gave me time to think. We were so close... How on earth could a silly dream of mine, come true? Of course, the tunnel had to interrupt. Thank you for destroying our moment.

I wanted to punch the rocky wall of the tunnel out of frustration when I saw a green light from the end of the tunnel. A laugh escaped my throat as I celebrated by waving my hands in the air. Caitlyn stared at me in dismay as she watched me do my celebration dance. I added in some fortnite moves to make it even cooler.

"Leo Valdez is da best. Team Valdiaz is hot to go! We did it, we did it, we did it! Yay! Come on lo hicimos!" I sang at the top of my voice. Caitlyn was shaking in laughter once I was done. I posed, "I can tell you liked my performance." 

Caitlyn protested, "Dora is a better singer than you. Seriously, she's five years old!"

She elbowed me, hard, in the ribs then made her way to the opening of the tunnel. Whether or not my ribs appreciated it, I liked it when she did that. I stared as Caitlyn jogged to the light. I should follow, instead of standing around like an idiot. I followed Caitlyn to the opening and found myself gasping as I took in the sight.

Viles of different coloured liquids filled the shelves that took up space all around the room. I hoped they weren't potions, I had bad experiences with Medea, who adored them. There were so many potions in that room, it would make her deeply proud.

I shuddered at the memory and started picking the bottles up and observing them. They had strange names in ancient greek like twigglefeet herb, tongue lumination and... Butt fungus?! I placed the bottle back in its place and wiped my hands on a handkerchief I retrieved from my toolbelt.

A gasp and the sound of something big falling to the ground grabbed my attention. I swerved around to Caitlyn, digging out a chainsaw from my golden toolbelt. I looked for any sign of monsters and evil gods, but there was nothing. I saw Caitlyn's pale face before seeing a book lying on the ground.

Oh... I mentally slapped myself as I picked up the book and flipped through it. There was nothing gasp-worthy. I looked at her in confusion. She let out a breath and stopped me on the page I was at. Her hand gently carried mine to the centre of the page where it read "Moly, a potion that can heal anything! Your broken bones, your hunchback, even any lost memories!"

"This- This is great! Except, you'll remember my most embarrassing moments before this." My hand relaxed in Caitlyn's grip. Her warm, soft... I cursed myself for getting distracted and ignored the fact that her face was only inches away from mine.

She looked at me as she spoke, "I need this..." She paused, thinking, "Search the room for this potion, now!" She snapped the book shut and ran for a shelf. My brain was still processing what happened when I found myself running to the other side of the room. I looked through the bottles frantically, my dyslexia slowing me down.

If Caitlyn got her memory back, that would be amazing. She would remember Camp Half-Blood, her knowledge of Greek mythology would help us greatly on this quest. Who knows? Maybe- the sound of glass smashing interrupted the thought. I ignored it, some of the bottles I grabbed were so slippery they almost fell. Thanks to my reflexes, they wouldn't be harmed.

But a feeling gnawed at my stomach when I heard silence. No sound of glass clinking or the rustling of hands. Before I could turn around, a hand flew onto my mouth, muffling my yelling. I thrashed, trying to shake my captor off. But their leg scored my stomach, a groan escaped my throat as I wrapped my arms around my stomach.

I desperately dug my hand in my toolbelt but realised it wasn't there. Everything started fading, just when I couldn't bear any more pain, a hand punched my mouth. 

Blood trickled down my chin and the room started rotating around me. I balled my right fist, ready to swing it. But it was too late. I weakly swung my fist at the silhouette in front of me. They effortlessly caught my hand and kicked my shins. I felt the ground give way and strong hands grabbed my wrists. I tried to see the face of my captor, but I lost sight when they stomped on my nose with what felt like a high heel.

I slowly opened my eyes, my head feeling heavy. My hands reached for my eyes, but then I realised they were tied to a chair. I let out a gasp of surprise and tried to shake off the bonds. "It's not worth it, the ropes are too tight." Caitlyn's voice whispered from behind me. I turned my head to find Caitlyn with her back to me in the same position as I was in.

The chair shook as I pulled from the restraints. "Seriously? You're gonna make us motion sick!" Caitlyn snapped in annoyance. I gave up. I observed the area we were in. We were in a square black room with a dim lightbulb hovering above us. 

But it was only us, and a door ahead of us. I was going to say something to Caitlyn when I saw the handle turn and a tall figure walk towards us. She had silky long black hair that trailed behind her, so dark it looked like a shadow. Her glaring green eyes stood out with her black dress flowing around her.

She gave me a wicked smile that made me shiver as she got closer. The glint in her eye made her look like a beast toying with their prey before they would eat it. Oh boy, we were the prey! Caitlyn looked confident and returned the glare the woman was giving us. Next to her, I looked like a mouse cowering underneath the shadow of a cat.

"I see our intruders have awakened." She purred. I wanted to create a gadget that would punch her in her mocking face and demand her where we were. She continued, "Ah, you poor things. Leo Valdez, do you like the branding I gave you?" 

My hand pulled against the rope, wanting to clutch my sore stomach. But I couldn't feel my nose, I hated the idea of my nose being bent in a weird position. "Oh, I like it. I like getting brandings from grannies." I challenged her.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Her eyes flashed green and her hair rose like snakes around her head. I yelped when she pointed her glowing finger at my chair and zapped one of the legs. The chair tilted forward putting me in an uncomfortable position. 

"Ah, well I never felt more comfortable." I awkwardly leaned one side. 

"I suggest you shut your mouth if you don't want to be deformed like that chair."

I immediately shut up. I didn't want to lose the good looks all the ladies adore. The woman let out a chuckle, "Fools, you are cowards. I don't get how you got into my domain."

"We sorta stumbled here by accident," Caitlyn remarked dryly.

The woman flicked her dark hair back, "That makes sense, you demigods are stupid. Do you even know who I am? You should be bowing and begging for mercy." Her eyebrows narrowed.

Caitlyn clenched her teeth, "We never bow down to stupid people like you. Don't think I don't know who you are, you're Circe." 

Circe smiled menacingly, "My, my, you are a tough one. You remind me of one of my old visitors... Ah, yes, Annabeth,"

"You turned Percy into a guinea pig and the Odyssey crew into pigs. You aren't going to turn us into mouse aren't you?"

Circe tapped her long nail on her chin, "I might consider it, but I'm on strict orders."

Caitlyn's eyes gleamed, we were close to finding the name of the enemy who removed her memory. 

"Interesting, what were the orders?" Caitlyn pressed.

"You are curious! Sometimes, that can get you killed," Circe snapped her fingers.

We were now trapped in a cage and snarls surrounded us. Coats of grey and white surrounded us, snapping their sharp teeth. Caitlyn muttered, "I don't like wolves anymore,"

Circe stroked the head of the biggest one, "I haven't fed them for days, they are looking forward to a demigod meal." The wolfs came closer and struck their claws at the cage, wanting to get to their food. Caitlyn spoke up, "Who's so interested in us? What do they want?"

Circe searched us, "Since you are going to die anyway... The Algea desperately want the boy's soul, yours too if he isn't enough." I flinched as a wolf jumped at the cage, making it shake. "Let me get this straight, some seaweed wants my soul?"

"Yes, I'd imagine you're the one with the most, painful experiences," I flinched as Circe smirked. "The wolves are getting impatient, I should just feed them to you now!" Each bar of the cage started disappearing one by one, causing me to panic.

Caitlyn nudged me frantically, "Leo, burn the rope! I'll stall! Oh yeah, and cover your ears!" I gave myself a mental facepalm. Why haven't I thought of that? I produced a flame and hovered it over the rope binding my hands. Once my hands were free, I clasped my hands against my ears when Caitlyn let out a loud ultrasonic whistle.

The wolves started to whimper and wincing while Circe bent over and squeezed her hands against her ears. "Hurry! They won't be stunned for long!" Caitlyn urged me. I willed the flame to get hotter when her rope finally snapped.

We jumped off our seats and dashed for the door. "Get them!" Circe commanded once she snapped out of it. I ran faster when I heard the wolves behind us. The door led to a tunnel, we dashed through it.

I stopped once I realised I had left something behind. Caitlyn stopped in her tracks when she realised I wasn't following. "Leo! Come on!" But the wolves already surrounded us with Circe trailing behind.

"Looking for this?" She held out my golden toolbelt. "That's mine!" I yelled. I took a step towards her but a wolf blocked me. I groaned in desperation and clenched my fists. A circle of fire surrounded me and Caitlyn, blocking us from the wolves. Some wolves howled in pain and stepped away from the fire. Some had singed fur and red blisters.

The wolves cowered and they all ran away. Those that got burned limped after their pack. "Oi! Come back! You cowards! Why did I even transform you?" As Circe was distracted, I snatched the golden toolbelt from her hand and started running. 

We didn't look back as vines started trailing around us, wanting to trap us. When we finally saw the exit, the vines starting growing faster, giving us less space to run in. When the vines took hold of my feet, Caitlyn was already at the exit and grabbed my hands.

She pulled until the vines tangled loose when my ankles went on fire. The vine sizzled and part of it fell to the ground, black. I fell in a heap as we found ourselves in the workshop. The vines started to grow out of the trapdoor. 

Caitlyn yelped and frantically dropped to her knees and started patting the floor. I was going to do the same when the door closed, cutting off the vines. They fell to the floor and started wriggling like worms, suffocating. 

Caitlyn looked at me as if congratulating me. But I was confused, I hadn't pressed anything. Caitlyn noticed the look on my face. Her eyes widened when a shadow fell over me. "It's rude to not say anything when someone has helped you."

I turned around to find Connor Stoll giving us a cocky smile.


	20. Chapter 20

Caitlyn

"Living in a lie is no fun"

Connor helped us up and took us outside for some fresh air. My brain was at overload. "Leo, Connor, I wanna make sure it worked." They both froze in their spots and looked at me in confusion. After a few moments, it dawned on Leo and he gave me an excited smile, "How? We never found the Moly potion!"

"I found it! I was going to tell you but I saw a shadow lurking behind me and realised there was someone else with us. So I gulped it whole before Circe would snatch it away." I explained, Connor raised his eyebrows but said nothing. 

So I started remembering everything, "My last name is Diaz and I'm from Brazil, my parents moved to Florida when I was a baby. My godly parent is Apollo, the god of music, poetry and other stuff I can't be bothered saying. I used to live in Miami before my dad revealed himself a god. My younger sister and mum are still in Miami, with my dad secretly behind the scenes. We go to Camp Half-Blood for training and you were my best friend, along with Piper. When I was taken away..."

My eyes widened and my chest felt heavy. I looked at Leo in disbelief, anger bubbling in my throat, "YOU? You took me into the camp forest, saying you had a surprise for me. Instead, I find you bowing to some freaks and I end up knocked out by one of your stupid machines!"

Leo's face was in complete shock and was speechless. Connor, on the other hand, looked more confused than ever. "What are you talking about? I'm not a creep!" Leo exclaimed. I wanted to believe him, but I knew what I saw.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about! I'm not an idiot Leo!" I jabbed a finger into his chest. I tensed up once I realised I was standing too close to him, I growled at myself for being so ridiculous and took a step back. Hurt and betrayal tore through my chest, threatening to take over me.

How could he do this? I trusted him, but it was only to find that he was some sort of spy. "Caitlyn, you know me, I would never... not to you," Leo started. Angry tears started streaming down my face, I tried to hide it but Leo was beyond shocked seeing me cry.

I sobbed, "I don't wanna hear any excuses. You might as well as stay away from me and throw yourself in Tartarus!" I ran away before Leo could say anything. I ran deep into the trees and dropped myself to the ground when I couldn't run anymore. 

I felt like the whole world was working against me. My whole life had been an illusion, my dad wasn't who he said he was, I had lost all of my memories and now, my best friend betrays me. He's not a friend to me... I punched the tree and let all of my tears escape my eyes.

I never felt so alone. I was wrong about being a demigod. It wasn't the easy, fun life I pictured it to be, it was hard and you go through experiences that scar you for life.

"Caitlyn? Yo, are you okay?" I looked up to find Connor crouched down beside me. I wiped my wet cheeks, "What do you think?" I narrowed my eyes at him and stood up. He rubbed his neck, "Look, I don't know what the hell is happening but I want you to know that I will help you out of this mess, no matter what."

My eyebrows shot up, I must've been hearing wrong. "What kind of pity speech was that? We better be going back. I can't wait to punch..." 

Connor groaned in frustration, "You're not getting it!" He grabbed both of my hands as I stared at him with my eyes wide. "Ever since you arrived at the camp, I would always see you with Leo." He hesitated, "I was too cowardly to come up to you and be honest. But since Leo chose me on this quest, I got to get closer to you and..." He took a deep breath, his eyes intense, "I have feelings for you, not the friend kind, I mean the other kind."

He dropped my hands and my ears were ringing. Did Connor really do a declaration of love, for me? My heart was beating fast. No way. I replayed what he had said and realised what he had said was true. I would notice him staring at me and he always rubbed his neck when he talked to me. He wasn't as annoying as Piper described when he was with me.

Oh, my Gods. I was blind. He searched me with a look in his eyes that I couldn't decipher, waiting for me to say something. But I couldn't manage to say anything. My throat felt as if it had been clawed at. I managed to form some words, "Wow, um. I didn't know. Yeah-" 

Connor sniggered and I noticed he was standing a lot closer to me. He had a tender look in his eyes and his touch was gentle when he took hold of my hands. My heart was playing a drum solo as Connor neared. I couldn't move, I wanted to take a step back and call it a day but... How was I supposed to tell him I only thought of him as a friend? I'll tell him, I will...

The air dropped when I realised Connor was leaning towards me, with his lips pursed. I thought of taking a step back when I froze. Lawn clippings and dog food his breath smelled like. My mind retraced to the room Leo and I was in when Circe captured us. As I flipped through the book of potions, I had found a page where it talked about a potion that smelled like lawn clippings and dog food.

"Connor, stop." Connor's eyebrows pressed together as I pulled away. I tried to ignore his look of disappointment, but to be honest, I was relieved the kiss didn't happen. My mind raced through the possibilities when a light bulb flicked on. "Do you still have that napkin you used to wipe that hot chocolate?" Connor gave me a look of confusion, "Why do you-" 

"Just give it, will you? It's urgent." I held my hand out. He sighed as he fumbled through his pockets and gave me a scrunched napkin. I scrunched my face in disgust when I opened it and discovered my theory was correct. 

The chocolate smeared on the napkin had specks of red in it and I was pretty sure cinnamon didn't look that bright. My voice hardened when I commanded, "Follow me." 

Connor looked as if he was about to protest, but my glare shut him up. I brisked ahead as fast as I could to where more trees gathered. When we were at least a hundred feet away from the cottage, I heard a yelp from behind me. This confirmed everything. I turned back to find Connor trying to push his way towards me. But there was some sort of force field keeping him in. 

I hadn't drunk any of the chocolate when we had arrived, I felt too sick. That was how Connor must've gotten under the influence of the potion. That meant Leo and Piper were too. Goiteia potion it was called.

I yelled when I collapsed to the ground and my head started pounding. Connor's cries sounded distant, and I knew he couldn't get to me. 

"My, what a smart little girl you are! Bring us our treat, FEED US!" The raspy voices replayed in my head. They felt like sharp pebbles being thrown at me, each time harder. "Stop!" I screamed at nothing. The voices continued to torture me and my arms wobbled under my weight.

I clawed at the ground, trying to resist. I pictured I was in a large bubble, where the world was silent, where nothing could disturb me. The voices died down as I focused on the silence I needed. When I could only hear the soft breeze, I took a shaky breath and stood up. 

I didn't say anything as I stalked past Connor, my glare fixated on the cottage which where I knew Calypso would be brewing one of her potions.


	21. Chapter 21

Caitlyn

"Turn up the fight song."

I slammed open the front door and stormed into the house. I heard humming from the kitchen, I recognised that voice instantly. I wished I had brought some kind of weapon, but there was nothing in the living room that could be used. I sighed and stationed myself outside the kitchen door. I allowed myself to take a deep breath. Okay, here was the plan: I confront her and from there I would improvise. That was how demigods win the fight, isn't it? 

Without another thought, I dashed into the room and found myself face to face with the sorceress. She had her arms crossed and her eyebrows were arched. Her dark eyes widened at my sudden entrance, but after a few seconds, her eyes narrowed. 

"Well, there you are Caitlyn Diaz. Finally worked it out?" Calypso sneered as she glanced at the napkin in my hand. I shoved the napkin into her hands and scolded her, "You have been sneaking potions into my friends' mouths haven't you? You proved yourself a major wretch."

Calypso tossed the napkin aside, "You are your friends are idiots, we have been working behind the scenes all this time," I glared at her, but... Maybe I could get some information from her? 

I asked her, "How? I would've recognised that fake smile of yours anywhere." She looked as if she wanted to punch me, her teeth were tightly clenched before she composed herself and explained, "We were the ones who sneaked Leo a potion which made him do everything as we said, that how you were led to the forest. Aren't you smart enough to figure that out?" 

Wait, so it wasn't Leo that led me into our enemies clutches? He didn't betray me after all. I let out a sigh of relief and regretted yelling at him earlier. My stomach once again had butterflies flying all over the place at the mention of his name. I wanted to run back to Leo and apologise for not trusting him.

But Calypso said 'we'. Who was the other person? Could she be talking about the Algea?

I needed more information. 

I urged her, "Cool, please tell me more. You sound so smart all of the sudden." Calypso looked at me with suspicion but as I put on my curious face, she continued, "Yeah, so we sneaked you the Nepenthe, the potion of forgetfulness. Ha, should have seen the look on your face after we gave you the potion, you looked like the mindless freak you are. Then-"

"Stop! She wasn't supposed to know that!" A voice interrupted from behind me. I swerved around to find cat-like green eyes, searching me like a tiger. Circe's scolded, "Calypso! There are better ways to toy with your prey." She held her hand up and flicked it.

I suddenly felt as if a rope were tied around my stomach and it tightened every second. My ribs were straining under the pressure and it hurt to breathe. Sweat trickled down my face as I tried to fight the pain. 

Calypso looked horrified at the display. But when Circe shifted the attention from me to Calypso, she changed her expression into a look of amusement. I clutched my stomach and I slumped down to the ground, relieved it was over.

"Remember to do that next time. It's fun to see your prey suffer." Her eyes gleamed with evil lurking behind them. Calypso's eyes were wide open as she quickly nodded, "Yes, ma'am." She took a step away and forced her eyes shut and started muttering to herself. Circe looked away from her.

"You demigods are pests. You always get into the way of our plans." Circe's face was scrunched up in disgust. She kicked my hip just as I was getting up. A gasp escaped my lips as I crashed onto the ground once again.

I was pretty sure my ribs were broken by now. 

My head started throbbing and whispers started filling my head. "Oh, not now!" I groaned out loud. Circe let out a cackle, "Oh, so the Algea communicating with you? What fun this is for me! Not to worry though," She pointed to the sky and a flash of green shot out of the room. The voices silenced without a trace. She sneered at me, "I sent them a message explaining I'm in the middle of torturing you!"

I was able to breathe again after the voices left my head. But I was still in a sticky situation. I was still trying to deal with Circe and Calypso. It wasn't like I was to succeed anyway. I strongly doubted it. 

"Time to get this party started!" Circe clapped her hands together in excitement. That didn't sound good for me. Circe nodded to Calypso and she hesitantly clicked her fingers. I heard footsteps making their way into the room leaving me facing my friends.

Their eyes were flashing green and the stood surrounding me with their arms straight by their sides, like soldiers. I couldn't bear look at Leo, it hurt me to know he was being possessed, again, because of me.

My brain was frantically trying to work out what to do when Calypso stammered, "A-after her." Circe had a smirk on her face as if she were having the time of her life. I was the opposite. Connor, Piper and Leo all dived for me. I quickly rolled out of the way before they could flatten me.

They quickly managed to get back onto their feet and started running after me. When they were close enough, I swung my leg at their feet, causing them to fall over once again. I instantly stood up, trying to ignore the pain in my stomach and tried to plead with my friends.

"Hey, guys? It's me, Caitlyn. Don't you remember me? I am on the quest with you guys. And-" My voice stopped when Leo got up and lit his hand on fire. He gave me a wicked smile and dashed towards me with his hand outstretched. 

Looked like my reasoning didn't work. My mind focused on the light beam shining through the window and concentrated on its form. I kept my eyes open, waiting for Leo to get closer. When he was a foot away from me, I willed the light beam to bend and shine into Leo's eyes.

He groaned and covered his eyes, stopping in his tracks. I took a step towards him and whispered in his ear, "Leo? I know you're in there somewhere. I'm sorry for yelling at you before, I didn't realise what happened. But, I need you here with me. I can't get out of this alone." I let all the words pour out of me and without thinking, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. 

"Caitlyn?" I hear Leo ask. I quickly unleashed myself out of arms and looked at Leo, his eyes back to normal. A big smile made its way to my lips as I took in Leo's adorable face. His soft dark brown eyes searched my face and his dark curls fell onto his forehead, making me want to brush it off his face. 

"Could you two stop staring at each other like that? You make me want to puke. Let's bring back the fun!" Circe complained. Calypso sighed and commanded Piper and Connor to go after us. "Let's turn up the heat shall we?" Leo got out some wires from his toolbelt. I looked at the challenge standing before us, "Yes, the party was dead anyways." Piper and Connor lunged at us. I side-stepped Piper, making her run into the wall behind me.

Somehow, within seconds, Leo had created three helicopters, made from wire, one of them hit Connor's face. Connor tried to swat them away but they kept returning. Circe groaned in frustration, "Fine! If those two can't fight you, I will!" She held her hands in front of her.

Vines forced themselves into the room, surrounding us. Circe chuckled, "You got no escape now. All I have to do is hand you over to the Algea and they would bring back Odysseus so that I can take my revenge on him!" 

Leo fished around in his toolbelt when he shouted, "Eureka!" He pulled out a metal sphere. "You're going to defeat me with that? You demigods are idiots if you think you can defeat me!" Vines started to close on us, slithering like snakes. "Duck under a vine everyone!" 

I did as I was told. My eyes watered when I ducked behind a vine, my stomach screaming with agony. "What are you-" Circe was cut off with a loud explosion. The force knocked out my vine, leaving me exposed. 

Luckily, that was all the bomb had to offer. I looked up to find a pile of smoke where Circe was standing and Leo grinning. "Take that you pile of poop!" He celebrated.

Piper and Connor snapped out of their spell and examined the room. The vines all disappeared and scorch marks decorated the walls. A trail of smoke floated from Leo's hair as he did a mini dance, "That's what happens when you deal with the dream team! Team Valdiaz!" Connor crossed his arms when Leo wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

But his celebration ended when we heard coughing from the corner. All eyes flew over where Calypso was cowering with a tear-stained face.


	22. Chapter 22

Caitlyn

"Forgive and forget is the answer,"

"I-I'm sorry," Calypso stammered as another pool of tears leaked down her face, "I never meant to hurt you." She tucked herself into a ball and lied down helplessly on the floor. I shared a look with everyone else, they all nodded at me, thinking the same thing as me.

Calypso may have possessed my friends and sent them to kill me, but she was under the influence of Circe. I took in a deep breath and crouched down beside her, "Hey, it's okay. We all make mistakes so don't torture yourself for it." I bit my lip, not knowing what else to say. 

I looked at Piper, my eyes pleading for help, she was good with words anyway. She sighed and crouched down beside me. Piper soothed, "It's over Calypso. Circe is gone now, you can finally breathe freely again." Calypso raised her wide eyes to us and whispered, "Thank you, no one has ever forgiven me that easy." Her eyes wandered to Leo.

My hand was outstretched in front of me, hoping Calypso was now on our side. She took it and we both stood up. She put her hand down as she croaked, "I don't deserve such nice treatment, there must be something I can do for your quest."

I raised my eyebrows at Calypso, "No, you don't have to-"

She ran to the cupboards before I could finish my sentence. Calypso squeaked in excitement when she dug out a vial the size of my pinky, with blue liquid swirling around it. "This is an incredibly hard potion to make, Omprenthine. It is a mix of incredibly rare ingredients, so you must use it wisely. This is the only vial of Omprenthe I have."

Calypso carefully placed the tiny vial in my hand and with a serious look, she whispered, "It must be in your hands. When you are face to face with the Algea, you will make an incredibly hard choice." She clasped my hand tightly, "Choose wisely."

Piper muttered, "The foursome will follow the path of grief, in the darkest of burials, and its masters shall be fed, but who will the maiden heal? The line from the prophecy... Calypso, what does this potion do?"

Calypso gave us a weary look, "It is a potion of healing, stronger than the Moly potion you used to gain your memory back. It can stop any illnesses or impairment at once, it can heal the soul. I can't express to you how important this will be for your last battle in this quest."

I swore I saw Calypso glance quickly at Leo as she said this. I felt as if a stone dropped to my stomach, I had the life of someone in my hands. It was too much for me to possibly handle. But I knew in my heart that I had to make the choice.

"Thank you," I turned to my friends, "Okay, so we need to figure where to find the Algea and-"

"The Algea?" Pipers eyes widened, "I've heard of them before, let me recollect my memory..."

Calypso appeared next to me, causing me to jump. "Oh I know who they are, they were the ones who promised they would leash strong, negative emotions for those who broke my heart, strong enough for them to experience depression or even suicide," Calypso took a shaky breath, "if I worked for them successfully. But working with Circe for them was a mistake that I won't make again. Revenge doesn't make you feel better. The Algea are the spirits of suffering and pain. Their names are, Lupe: the goddess of pain, Ania: the goddess of sorrow and Achus: the goddess of anguish."

The room went silent once we knew who we were facing. "But why do they want us? Last time I checked, we are not dog food." Leo asked. Calypso sighed, "Leo, they want you because you have strong emotions of pain, sorrow and anguish. The Algea want to feed on you, and possibly Caitlyn because they're crumbling away, they are weak. They need your emotions to survive. They have been toying with your feelings since the start, to make it strong enough to feed them."

Leo all of the sudden looked pale and held on to my shoulder so that he wouldn't fall. I tried to ignore the fact that he was holding onto me and tried to speak with a confident voice, "Yeah, um... I bet Festus is repaired by now so... dang it, we don't where to go." I pouted.

Piper recited a line from the prophecy, "The foursome will follow the path of grief, in the darkest of burials, perhaps when it says burials, it's talking about a cemetery? And darkest could mean where the sun sets the fastest or-?"

"You mean haunted, they told me they would be in the most haunted cemetery in the country which is... Okay, I don't have an answer for that." Calypso sighed.

Leo smirked, "No worries amigos! This hot stuff here can access Google in seconds! Uh, can I borrow the demigod proof phone your dad gave you?"

He held out a hand towards me. I had completely forgotten that I had a phone considering we went through a lot on this quest. I dug my hand in the pocket of my hoodie and dug it out. Leo smiled with triumph when I passed my phone to him and-

"Gah! No internet!" Leo complained. He paced around the room passing his hand through his hair. Connor sniggered and tried to catch my eye. I ignored him, trying not to raise the levels of awkwardness. I focused on Leo, watching him with amusement when my knees buckled.

Not again.

I tried to stand up but failed terribly. I fell on my face and I could only faintly hear the shouts coming from my friends, it sounded as if I were underwater. My vision darkened when a scene popped up in front of my eyes. 

Three figures with hunches were chanting together in the middle of the clearing. The dirt was grey and some tombstones surrounded them. They looked up and I almost screamed with fright. 

Their faces were filled with so many wrinkles, I could've mistaken them for prunes. Their faces looked as if they were rotting away, with rashes run across their faces and you could see their veins through their skin. Their eyes were completely black and they were almost bald except for a few white hairs sprouting out of their scalp. 

It was a horrible sight. They chanted with their raspy voices and completely ignored me. I then heard footsteps and one had a devilish grin on her face, making her look like a scary, wrinkly Jacko lantern. "They're here!" She cackled, I felt her gaze upon me and revealed her toothless grin.

"Come quick my little servant. We need to feed soon!" She started cackling and the other two joined her. My heart was pounding rapidly and I swear I was white as a ghost. I ran away from them, I stopped when I reached the gates of the cemetery. I was out of breath and I shivered as if ice water were splashed on me.

I looked up at the gate realising where I was, "St Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans." I read out loud. I felt cold all over and I looked back to where I ran from. The Algea stood where they were, what I heard made my stomach drop, "Give us the Omprenthe! We will spare your family..." They screamed in unison.

My breathing went quick and I dropped to the ground, trying to make sense of the scene. I felt a cold hand on my face and I opened my mouth to scream. 

My eyes snapped open, back in reality. I couldn't get the horrible image of the Algea, their wrinkled skin, their eyes... Oh, gods. Leo sighed with relief, wiping the sweat off my face, "Thank the gods! You're awake! Hey, you okay? You look as if you saw a ghost."

I kept shivering, trying to forget the Algea. My ears were ringing and I had goosebumps all over my arms. I forced myself to breathe and I told Leo, "St Louis Cemetery #1, New Orleans. That's where-" My eyes rolled up to head, my hold on Leo went limp. "Calypso! Get something for her! Caitlyn, stay put, we'll go now at once. Uh, try not to blackout on me."

My body disobeyed Leo's command. I drifted off into the darkness, the last thing I saw was a vial placed onto my lips.


	23. Christmas special

"Jingle bells! Caitlyn Smells! Percy ran away! Hera dies, no one cries. Leo all da way!" Leo sang at the top of his lungs as he skipped alongside an exasperated Caitlyn. 

"Jingle bells! Caitlyn smells-"

"That's not how you sing it," Caitlyn interrupted, " It's: Leo smells and Caitlyn all da way."

"Come on princess, that's not fair for me. Everyone does I'm the best."

She let a giggle escape her lips and shook her head. Leo couldn't help but grin along with her. Caitlyn turned to Leo and challenged, "I will win, you know that. I am an awesome gift-giver." A mischievous smirk found its way onto her lips and she thought it was funny to stick her tongue out.

Leo challenged her, "Oh yeah? Only this Hot Stuff can make the impossible, possible. Get ready to face defeat, Caitlyn. It will be served flaming hot!"

She raised an eyebrow and the two demigods walked silently through the thick trees until they reached Bunker 9. They stood in front of the huge cliff where all the trees abruptly ended. Leo chuckled at Caitlyn's look of confusion, "I thought it'll look... I don't know, majestic? Modern?" Leo gestured to the rock wall and soon, flames trickled over Leo's hand and he placed it on the rough limestone surface 

The was a deep rumble the shook the earth and suddenly, there was an entrance to the bunker. Lights directed Caitlyn and Leo to an enormous workshop full of tools and the smell of grease. 

On a balcony, stood Piper and she smiled down at them once they emerged from the dark hallway. "Merry Christmas!" She ran down the steps and hugged them both. She was wearing reindeer antlers and a very bright green shirt that said, 'Santa's lil' helper."

Piper pulled them up the holy decorated steps and led them to a Christmas tree with their friends: Annabeth, Percy, Hazel and Frank. They were all sitting around the tree, all of them with huge smiles on their faces and a cup of hot chocolate.

They all greeted each other with cheers and they all sat down. Caitlyn found her and Leo two elf hats and was able to talk Leo into wearing the hat. Presents with beautiful wrapping and shiny plastic ribbons surrounded the tree, waiting for the demigods to open them. 

"Can we open presents now?" Caitlyn asked as she eyed all of the presents, trying to guess which one Leo might've gotten for her. They all agreed and laughed at Caitlyn's childish attitude.

Caitlyn and Leo both darted for their presents to each other and raced back to their circle. Everyone watched Leo as he announced, "This is my present to Caitlyn. Mine will obviously be the best 'cause I'm the best." Piper glared at him, trying to tell him something. Leo awkwardly smiled when he realised what she was trying to tell him.

"Oh, and Merry Christmas Caitlyn." As he bent down to give Caitlyn her enormous gift box, he whispered in her ear, "You'll like it very, very much." Curiosity got the best of Caitlyn and she tore off the wrapping, eager to see what was inside.

Inside was a cardboard box. Puzzled, she opened up the box to find a wrapped up box slightly smaller than the one it was in. She tore off the wrapping off that box and found the same result. "Is this a sick joke? If you're broke, that's fine. I can take a hug as a gift." Caitlyn told Leo.

"Just keep going." Leo nudged her on.

After red, green, white and finally yellow wrapping, Caitlyn held a black box the size of her arm. Hazel asked, "What's inside?" Caitlyn zipped open the box and her eyes widened to what was inside. "See? I told you-" Caitlyn shushed Leo before he could say anything else and showed the contents of the box to everyone else.

"It's just markers, you can get them from any craft shop," Percy commented. Caitlyn and Annabeth glared at him. "To answer your question Percy, they're feela 100-count watercolour dual brush tip markers. They're not just any markers, they're awesome! They allow fine strokes and have vibrant colours. I just haven't had the time to look for these since I arrived here," 

Hazel nodded with approval but everyone else was blank-eyed.

Caitlyn rummaged through the box and gasped in delight as she pulled out a piece of paper. "Om my gods! This is great! Leo, how did you-"

"Can someone explain to me how on earth Leo can give Caitlyn such ordinary gifts and that girl get so excited?" Percy looked puzzled. Annabeth nudged her clueless boyfriend, "It's a ticket, Seaweed Brain!"

Caitlyn's eyes gleamed with excitement, "Not just any ordinary ticket, it's a ticket to Percy Jackson the Lightning Theif musical! I adore musicals!" She started humming a catchy tune.

"Hold up. There's a musical about me?" Percy's eyes widened. "Dam, those fangirls are scary."

Leo tapped his foot impatiently, "I don't know what you just said then but I'm still waiting for a thank you." Caitlyn rolled her eyes but smiled, "Thank you, Leo,"

Caitlyn threw her arms around Leo and hugged him tightly. Leo ignored the fact she was squeezing all the oxygen from his lungs and instead was trying to control the heat that had just rose to his face. "Oh, but you haven't seen mine yet," Caitlyn remembered and released him.

She pushed down the butterflies in her stomach and took the present next to her. Caitlyn handed it to Leo with a huge smile on her face. Leo took it with an eyebrow raised and started unwrapping it.

"No flipping way!" Leo exclaimed, causing everyone to jump. Caitlyn gave him a smirk, knowing she had won. Leo cleared his throat, "I mean, uh, cool." He tried to hide his excitement but everyone could see through his mask. 

He took out a pair of fingerless leather gloves with flame designs on them. He caught his hand on fire and the gloves remained unharmed, not a scorch mark on them. "How-" He started.

"I had the Hecate cabin put spells on the fabric to make them fireproof," Caitlyn replied with a grin. "It's impossible to get dirty, so you can work with all the grease you want, but these babies would still look fresh out of the box."

Leo struggled with keeping his cool and allowed Caitlyn to see his radiant smile. "I'm going to be the coolest demigod ever when I wear these. I can't wait to show the Hephaestus cabin!" Caitlyn crossed her arms expecting something.

"Yeah. Thank you, Caitlyn. I know you'll find me irresistible with these!" He flashed a triumphant smirk. Caitlyn rolled her eyes and tried not to overthink what he had just said. She couldn't stop her heart from beating hard on her chest.

"Good game," Leo held out his hand. She smiled, "Good game." She shook his hand.

It was well past midnight, they had partied all night long. They had Christmas dinner and drank lots of hot chocolate. They opened more presents and they were just about to leave when they heard a thump from the roof. "What was that?" Annabeth asked. 

"It was probably a bird," Percy suggested.

"That heavy?"

"Hey, I've seen crazy stuff in this forest, why not giant birds?" He shrugged and told everyone to keep an ear out for more sounds. 

Then they heard rumbling coming from the tunnel. Caitlyn got a bow and arrow that was hanging from the wall and aimed it at towards the tunnel. Percy uncapped his pen and held his bronze sword in front of him. 

They stared at the tunnel, waiting for something to emerge from it. Soon, they saw a flash of red and white fly out of the tunnel. Everyone ducked when it flew over them and headed for the second level. "It's heading towards the Christmas tree!" Frank shouted.

Frank transformed into an eagle and flew towards the balcony. Everyone else rushed up the stairs, getting their weapons ready. Once they reached the top, they saw a silhouette bent over their Christmas tree.

"1, 2..." Percy counted. Before he could say 3, everyone dived forward, aiming their weapons at... "Santa?" Leo observed the person standing in front of their Christmas tree, sticking their hands up. 

Caitlyn looked down at their boots to find wings connected to them. "No, that's Hermes. Dressed up as Santa." She observed.

Hermes reached down and tugged his beard down to his chin. "Yes, it's me. Dang, this beard is itchy." He scratched his chin. Percy growled, "That doesn't explain why you're trespassing here wearing a Santa suit."

Hermes threw his hands up in exasperation, "Seriously? I AM Santa. I have to work every Christmas Eve to deliver gifts to children. For some reason, Zeus chose me to be some jolly mascot. Ugh, I should be out there delivering important packages instead of toys!" Hermes complained.

Everyone stared at him and Leo burst out in laughter, "You? Santa? Oh, my gods, this is some juicy stuff!" Hermes clenched his jaws and muttered, "I should put all of you kids on the naughty list. But I'm only in charge of the delivering,"

"But, who are your elves? Who are the ones who make all the toys?" Hazel asked. Hermes shrugged, "I don't have them. Even if they exist, they wouldn't work for me, those snobby elves. I get the toys from the shops-"

"You steal them?" Caitlyn gasped.

"No! Well, I am the god of thieves but... They're not for me! Geez, I need to get going. Stop putting your noses in other people's business." Hermes pulled his beard back on and before anyone could say anything, he flew out of the bunker.

"Can someone explain to me what just happened?" Frank asked. Everyone burst out in laughter. "Oh boy, I can't wait to tell the whole camp Hermes is Santa!" Leo chuckled. They all raced out into the night, all of them filled with joy and hope.

"Merry Christmas everyone!"


	24. Chapter 24

Leo

"I've been to shady places, but nothing like this!"

We were off, again. White, fluffy clouds surrounded us, making it feel like we were in a dream. The strong winds blew my hair all over the place, making it difficult to see. The land down below could barely be seen, it was all grey and misty.

During this flight, I was able to recollect my thoughts. I did know Caitlyn would occasionally pass out, but I didn't know they were visions. But why keep it from us? Seeing glimpses of the future? That's awesome. They're incredibly useful for pretty much any quest.

But hold on, she must've seen some really dark stuff in the future for her to keep it from us. What if she saw one of us die? What if it's so bad like monsters taking over the human race by poisoning their tacos? Stop it, Leo, you're overthinking it.

Caitlyn groaned in her deep sleep. I couldn't help but smile at her fondly, she was slumped at Festus's neck, her arms delicately wrapped around herself. Her lips were slightly parted and her breathes were soft, like a soft breeze. I realised what I thought and mentally slapped myself. I will not get distracted, I will not- 

Her eyes snapped open without warning and she scrambled to get up. She slowly started sliding down Festus's neck so I had to pull her back up and dodge her flailing arms. "Whoa, whoa! Chill out!" I held out my hand before she could slide down again. She let out a sigh as regained her balance.

"Nightmare, huh?" I asked. She nodded and started observing her surroundings. "I must be dreaming, I'm mean, we're literally in the sky... How long have I been out? " She frowned. I let out a nervous chuckle realising she might not like the answer, "You don't wanna know,"

She pressed her hands together and pouted at me, pleading with me. I could feel the blood rush up my face so I quickly gave in, "Okay, fine. You've been out for 60-" 

"60 DAYS? DID I SERIOUSLY MISS OUT ON A WHOLE QUEST?" 

"Let me finish, will ya? You've been out for 60 hours, Sleeping Beauty. By the way, we still got to finish the damn quest."

"You mean dam," Caitlyn inwardly smiled before she slumped in confusion and started calculating in her head. After a few minutes, she groaned, "I've been out for 3 days, haven't I? You tell me, I can't do maths."

I nodded, confirming her answer. She held her head in her hands and started whispering to herself, "I'm the worst, why? Why did the Fates decide to trust me with visions?" She looked back up, looking tired.

"Hey, when did they start?" I asked her. She put her chin into her hands and thought hard. 

Caitlyn's eyes widened when she thought of the answer, "Ohhh, they started when I left the Hunters of Artemis! Artemis warned me about some punishment for leaving them, I think this is it! But hold up, Artemis doesn't control this kind of stuff, my dad does. So... Yeah, I'm officially out of ideas." She wondered out loud.

"But isn't seeing the future a gift?" I furrowed my eyebrows together. Caitlyn rolled her eyes, "That was what I was afraid of. Seeing the future may cause you to see stuff you never would want to see, which makes you fear the future. Life isn't worth living if you're afraid of living it." She stared intensely into my eyes, trying to make a point.

Right. The journey passed in a flash. I remember laughing a few times along with Caitlyn and well, I hate to say this but I also found myself staring at her. I still don't get why sweaty hands had to be invented to go along with having a crush.

Ugh, why do I always have to lose my cool around her? I miss my macho self.

Festus let out a creak to tell us we were ready to land. I repeated the message for everyone and we all braced ourselves for landing. Soon enough, we were on the ground, without a scratch on us.

"Good job buddy! First proper landing!" I patted Festus's back and turned to see the place we were going to meet some grannies.

We were standing in front of the iron gates that led into the cemetery. The iron looked so rusted it looked as if no one had put oil on it in centuries. The cross on the top, for some reason, made the whole thing seem spookier.

The white paint on the sides was peeling off. I looked down to realise that all the grass stretched along the path until the entrance, even the grass was spooked.

I cleared my throat and turned to the crew, "So, what's the plan? Let's just get this over and done with. Then we can run away from this place and never return." Everyone started talking except for Caitlyn. She kept peering inside the gates as if she was trying to find something.

"Caitlyn?" I asked, "Are you going to say something? You brought us here after all." Caitlyn snapped out of her thoughts and apologized. I could tell something was bothering her. I decided to shrug it off and focus myself in the present.

We came up with nothing. So I guess the idea was to get in there and try not to get killed. That was the plan all the time.

"Okay, let us go in." Piper unsheathed her dagger, Katropis. I pushed open the gates, the sound it made almost made me deaf. I expected to see zombies pop out of their graves to chase us. Or, some bats to crowd us and shred us into bits.

But all was silent when we walked in. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Connor turned to Caitlyn. She nodded, "I know it is, I can feel it. Ugh, this place is giving me the shivers." Caitlyn cuddled herself.

I wanted to comfort her, wrap an arm around her. But luckily, I managed to keep my arms to myself.

We walked on, taking cautious steps. Nothing came out to attack us, which struck me as weird. I would jump every time someone would step on a twig, hey, it's not my fault that I was so jumpy.

"We should split up," Piper suggested. I wasn't sure about that idea but I didn't want to look like a coward so I agreed.

I walked in one direction while Caitlyn, Piper and Connor walked off in their ways. The unease in my stomach was growing but I swallowed it back down. But all I was seeing was lines of graves. Nothing to see.

I was going to yell out that the Algea were bluffing and that they weren't going to do anything to us when I heard a shriek from behind me. I darted off in the direction of the shriek and only barely managed to not trip over the gravestones.

In the distance, I could see someone sinking into the earth. Someone with wavy brown hair and a black hoodie. Caitlyn.

I willed my legs to go faster and I could see Piper and Connor dashing for her too. When I was 100m away from her, I stumbled. There was something white wrapped around her leg, a skeleton hand.

It managed to get Caitlyn sprawled on the ground. She frantically tried to reach for something but all she could grab was dirt. I was so close to her now.

I threw myself forward when Caitlyn got sucked up completely into the ground. I stared at the spot where Caitlyn had disappeared, not caring that dirt was completely covering my face. My chest was puffing after the run, but I only managed to fall over doing that.

Something cold and hard was felt on my wrist, I thought it was a leaf but I turned around to find the face of a skeleton looking back at me. I looked down at my hand to find with a bony hand gripping it. I tried to scramble away but it cackled, its soulless eyes unnerving me. It happened so fast, within seconds, all I could taste was dirt.


	25. Chapter 25

Leo

"I don't get how Hades can stand the underground."

My eyes yanked open and I did not expect to see darkness. I groaned as I got up. Even after a while, my eyes hadn't adjusted. Man, I need to eat more carrots.

I lit my hand on fire and yelped when I saw a body stirring in front of me. "Get away from me zombie!" I whimpered as I waved my hand in front of me.

"Oh calm down Leo! Can't you recognise your best friend?" They got up. I let out the breath I was holding when I realised it was Caitlyn. She slowly got up and observed our surroundings. There was nothing but dirt.

"So... What now?" She asked. My eyes went to the tunnel ahead of us. "I'll look around. You take care of Piper and Connor. I took a step forward but Caitlyn stopped me when she reached for my shoulder.

She shook her head as she warned me, "No Leo. Remember the last time we separated? We're dead meat if we split up again. Leo, I saw visions. I know what I'm talking about. The skeletons were one of the things I saw."

Her concerned eyes begged me to stay with her. I reluctantly nodded and plopped myself down onto the ground. Caitlyn muttered under her breath as she sat down beside me "Great, this whole quest thingy is turning me into Athena." She groaned. I smiled back at her and an awkward silence filled the air. We said nothing, both of us dreading what would happen next.

The moment Connor and Piper groaned, I rejoiced. "Wake up sleepy heads. We got some granny butts to kick!"

They slowly got up and were surprised to find themselves surrounded by walls of dirt. Piper got up and brushed the dirt off her but Connor stayed on the ground. He was unnaturally pale and he showed no signs of wanting to move. 

He had tears in his eyes as he looked helplessly upwardly. I bent over to his side and waved my hand in front of his face. "Hey, bro? You okay?" I clapped my hands in front of his eyes. He completely ignored me, but he managed to speak, "My mum, I saw her. She was one of the skeletons. She- She's dead after all,"

Tears ran down his face and he struggled to stand up. Caitlyn rushed over and gave him a hand. We both lifted him onto his feet, speechless. "Hey, you alright? Maybe that wasn't actually wasn't her. You'll find her someday," She reassured him. He nodded silently and looked over to her.

"You okay, Caitlyn?" Connor asked her. Her eyes hardened, "Connor, I should be the one asking. But yeah, I'm good." Connor shook our grips off and managed to walk ahead.

I looked in between them, not understanding.

"Do you wanna...?" He looked back at Caitlyn, his voice soft. "No," Caitlyn shook her head before Connor could finish.

Something happened between them, I know it. I pushed away bitter thoughts and forced a smile on my face. I decided not to ponder anymore on it.

I forced a smile on my face and pretended that didn't happen. I could tell Piper was also uncomfortable. "Well, we should get going unless we wanna die. Come on!" I trudged on forward.

Caitlyn ran to my side and mouthed a "thank you," I gave her a small smile. Caitlyn bent over to the ground and picked up a long stick. She ripped off the end of her shirt and wrapped the cotton on the tip of the stick.

She asked for some oil, in response I dug it out of my toolbelt and handed it to her. Caitlyn poured the oil over the cotton and took hold of my wrist. I tried to breathe but for some reason, I forgot how to inhale and exhale. She commanded me to light my hand on fire and when I did, she moved my hand over the stick and the tip went on fire.

"Whoah," I exclaimed in surprise. She gave me a grin and didn't realise she was still holding onto my wrist until I reminded her. She let it go with a nervous chuckle and held the torch in front of her. 

We walked for what felt like hours. We were tired, hungry and thirsty. There was nothing but dirt as we walked deeper into the earth. Piper stopped abruptly and suggested as she tried to catch her breath, "Could we have a break?" 

Caitlyn dropped her self to the ground and everyone followed suit. We passed around some ambrosia and nectar when we heard the sound of skittering. The sound was deafening and it sounded like there were thousands of them. 

We stood up frantically as we prepared for what might come. Out of the shadows came an army of hairy, eight-legged creatures. Their eyes without light in them, dark as Tartarus. Caitlyn muttered to herself. 

The tarantulas surrounded us within moments, their fangs clicking. "They can't hurt us, they're harmless to humans," Piper reassured us. But that didn't make sense, why would the Algea send them here? Unless...

They all looked straight at Caitlyn, their eyes menacing. She immediately paled as the torch in front of her shook. "They might not kill us, but they still bite," Caitlyn told Piper.

It made sense. The Algea wanted negative emotions served fresh when they feast. What happened to Connor, they did something, I don't know what, but it shook him up. This was like a game to them, whether you face what you despair the most or you die.

This obstacle was specifically put in place for Caitlyn. One tarantula jumped at Caitlyn, it's fangs bared. I swatted it away, the hairs behind my neck standing on end from its touch. 

I get why tarantulas freaked Caitlyn out. Those hairy, monstrous beasts. 

We kept the tarantulas back when we heard a voice, "Catin? Catin!" The voice sounded like as if it came from a baby. Caitlyn's eyes widened even more and she whispered, "No, it can't be." 

A young boy, around 3 years old, appeared out of the shadows with an enormous smile on his face. His eyes gleamed with happiness but his laugh didn't sound right, it was sorta distorted. He lumbered towards us, giggling.

When I turned to Caitlyn, she was on the floor, sniffling. "Caitlyn. Caitlyn?" I bent down beside her, rubbing her back. She buried her head into my chest as more tears came out. "Caitlyn? Would you mind telling me who's that? You'll feel better, I promise," I looked around to find that Connor had picked up Caitlyn's flame torch and started getting the spiders to back off.

Caitlyn lifted her tear-stained face towards me and took a deep breath before saying, "He's a cousin. We were very close, I'd always spend time with him. I would take him to the playground and would always joke around with him. But when my aunt and uncle came over once, he went into the backyard to play."

"They sent to the backyard to check up on him. When I did, I found him on the ground clutching his stomach. But the skin on his hand was extremely red and he couldn't get up. So I picked him up but as I did, a tarantula crawled over in front of us with a black widow in its mouth. I realised it was the spider it caused him to get sick, so I rushed him into the house. We called the ambulance but soon after, he died."

"I'd go back into the backyard, always wondering what would've happened if the tarantula arrived earlier before it killed him. I've hated all forms of eight-legged creatures since then, I don't know why, but that anger turned into fear. I always think it's either my fault or the tarantula. I should've been with him." Caitlyn looked at me. 

"It's not your fault, nor the tarantula. That happens, it's a part of life." I wiped away a tear from her face. Piper joined in, "Caitlyn, that guy, that's not actually him. It's an illusion that Algea put in place to cause you misery. Don't fall for it." I realised Piper had been using her charmspeak, no wonder I felt so confident all of the sudden.

Everyone else heard everything and all was still, including the spiders. Caitlyn wiped her tears and stood up. She looked over to her cousin and whispered, "I love you, but I'm not letting your death make me fear anymore." She spoke louder, "Leave. I'm not scared of you." She looked down at the spiders at her feet. 

The spiders retreated, back into darkness. The boy had disappeared with them with a look of frustration cast upon his face. We emerged in silence once again. Caitlyn looked over to me and soon, she was hugging me.

"Thank you, you don't know how much it means to me, now that I'm not caught up in it." She let go of me with a smile on her face. I could relate to her, I always thought I was the cause of my mom's death. Seeing her with a big smile on her face put one on my face.

"Guys, you realise it's not over yet." Connor interrupted my thoughts, "We can't celebrate too early." That was when we felt the earth tremble. The cave shook, acknowledging what Connor had just said. 

This was only the start of the Algea's game.


	26. Chapter 26

Leo

"Warning: don't do anything that deserves Caitlyn's death glare."

We ventured further into the cavern, the deeper we went, the more I felt the shadows were watching us. Though I tried to act tough, I jumped at every sound. How very macho of me. 

Caitlyn held the torch steadily in front of her with a steady, focused look in her eyes. The way she stood and looked made me feel like I needed to bow, she acted like a goddess and may I add that she looked like one. I admired her bravery, though she had experienced the horrors ahead of us.

She turned to me, making eye contact. I had realised I had been staring at her for a while so I panicked and moved my eyes elsewhere. I felt a burning sensation on my face and realised my nose was on fire. I extinguished the fire and looked away hoping no one saw. "Dude, what is it with you and Caitlyn?" I jumped and realised Connor was speaking to me. Yeah, he saw the whole thing.

He barely said in a whisper so Caitlyn wouldn't hear. Damn, I thought the voice belonged to some sort of ghost. But I was taken back by his question, I mean, there wasn't anything between us. We were just... friends. I ignored him, deciding I had enough to freak out about for today. 

"Judging your silence, you're hiding something," He focused on the tunnel ahead of us, not making eye contact. What was his problem? I decided I needed to answer him knowing that if he didn't, he would continue to be pushy. "I don't know what you're talking about man, as you can clearly see there is nothing. Nada. Got it?" 

He went silent for a few moments, but just before I could relax, he said something that caught me completely off guard, "I don't take staring and catching your face on fire as 'nada'. But I'm taking your word for it. I don't know if you noticed but... I kinda have a thing for her..."

Oh, why did he decide to have this conversation underground in a time of peril? It just adds on to my uneasiness. As much as I wanted to slap some logic into his mind, I forced a smile and joked, "Nah, it's okay man. Now we can be an awkward love triangle. I always wanted that."

I sealed my lips shut once I realised I had said the wrong thing. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, with frustration in his voice, "I recall you saying you had 'nada' in between you! Come on Leo! Just face it. You-"

"Uh, is everything alright?" Piper asked us. She motioned for Caitlyn to stop as she did so, she glared at us, mouthing, "Now is not the time!"

Thanks for repeating what I wanted to tell Connor, Piper. Oh, but Connor was in a real stubborn mood. "I can see it now Leo, you're a scaredy-cat who can't face his feelings. If you tried to, you'd have a gravestone that said 'Leo Valdez, died from catching his heart on fire' I can't believe that I thought you were telling the truth,"

That's it. I won't let this pile of crap bully me.

"Oh yeah? Well, you know this whole time, I never noticed you talking to her. If you're calling me a coward, you should look in the mirror and find a crying boy whose mom abandoned him!"

"Leo! Connor! Stop it!" Not even Piper's charmspeak didn't do anything to help.

Connor was just about to charge towards me when Caitlyn stood in the way giving us both the death glare. We froze in our places, realising what we've done. "What is it with you two? Is there a pretty nymph I haven't heard about? Well whatever, you two are acting like total selfish babies!"

Ouch, that one hurt the most.

"Now isn't the time to be arguing! The Algea could be anywhe-"

The earth started rumbling causing us all to lose balance. As I fell to the ground, I saw three silhouettes crouching on top of me, whispering in raspy voices. The Algea, they were here. When my eyes regained focus, they were gone. I must've hit my head too hard.

I felt a hand pull me up and I looked up to realise it was Caitlyn. "Come on," her voice was filled with urgency. As I got up, Caitlyn asked, "You good?" I nodded but I was also conscious of the fact that her arm was wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

She released me and looked around us. Piper and Connor were nowhere in sight. The cavern was still in motion, luckily, I kept my balance. All of a sudden, it stopped. We stood unsure, waiting for something to pop up, but there was nothing.

The silence was eerie, I would've thought I was deaf if our heavy breathing didn't fill it. Out of nowhere, the walls started moving. There were closing in on us rapidly. We heard a scream fill the silence, ringing my ears.

Caitlyn turned to me, "That's Piper, do you think-"

I nodded, "She's claustrophobic."

Caitlyn nodded in understanding, but then paused, "The Algea has some sort of test for each of us, death, Spiders, claustrophobia, but, what about you?"

I feared to think about it, but for now, we needed to get out of this situation. But as I patted the walls for a possible way out, my mind started racing. What if they display something about my mom? No, I moved on. I accepted her death. 

But what else would it be? I looked over to Caitlyn who was busy forcing the walls back. No, they wouldn't, no. I won't let them. With a growl, I told her, "Let them close in on us,"

"What? Are you crazy?!?" She shrieked. I smirked, "Technically, I am crazy. But just trust me, I know what I'm doing." Caitlyn looked at me and noticed the confident look in my eyes. She looked at the walls which were only a few inches away from our faces.

She sighed, "If we die, Valdez, I'm blaming it on you." I let out a chuckle as she gave me a weird look. Without thinking, I took her hand.

She looked down at our linked hands and smiled at me. She faced the wall confidently, completely trusting me. Without another word, we took the last breath and let the walls consume us.

I saw a dim light making its way into my vision. My eyes snapped open and I saw three hideous faces loom over me. I could barely make out its features and I blinked to make sure that it wasn't a hallucination. It wasn't. We were face to face with the Algea, in flesh.


	27. Chapter 27

Caitlyn

"Pain is what can drive you insane if you let it,"

They were uglier than I recalled. But what most freaked me out was... Their eyes. Their eyes were soulless pits. If I had kept looking into them, they would've driven me into total despair. Tears streamed out of their eyes and the Algea acted as if they had no control over them. The tears streamed down their hollow cheeks. I diverted my eyes away from theirs and looked away.

I was on the dirt floor, listening to their painful sobs. Just hearing them made me want to curl up into a ball and die. I allowed their taunting whispers to overwhelm me. This is it, this is where I give up. I looked up and saw a toothless smile grow on their face.

Why would she be smiling? I realised those depressing thoughts weren't mine and shut them out. The same Algea who smiled, her lips went downwards and more sobs escaped them. It's the energy coming from them that's making me feel like this. I won't give in to them.

With a groan, I stood up and I turned, facing them. We weren't underground anymore. The sky was grey, not a beam of moonlight to be seen. The gravestones surrounded me felt eerie, it was as if they were watching me, seeing who would win.

Wow, I'm feeling the pressure now. I heard Leo's groan from behind me, bringing me out of the depressing sight. "Leo!" I scrambled for him, completely ignoring the Algea's hissing. I kneeled next to him, checking for injuries. Luckily, he was only covered in dirt.

"I'm okay, Starlight." he chuckled, lightening the weight of the situation. "Starlight?" I asked as I helped him onto his feet. He looked at me as if I should have known what he was talking about. "Yeah, cause' your dad is the sun god and such. The sun is a star so-"

"Whatever Leo! Look around you, it's not the time to be creating nicknames!" I yelled.

"Okay! Okay, chill. Uh, what's up ladies," He finally saw the Algea behind me. I didn't even bother to roll my eyes because once I faced them, fear started clawing at my gut. But I was still annoyed at Leo for not taking this seriously.

I looked at each of them and tried to work out who was who. I guessed the one who was on the ground sobbing hysterically, clutching her stomach was Lupe: the goddess of pain. Ania: the goddess of sorrow, was probably the one standing still as tears leaked from her pure black eyes and with her head bent down. I looked to the goddess in the middle, that must be Achus: the goddess of anguish, she was clutching her head tightly and shaking her head.

These are some creepy goddesses we're facing, okay.

"Enough chatter," Lupe hissed, "Time to be fed." The others cackled in glee and looked greedily at us. "Uh, do they mean that they want to eat my flesh? Cause' that's a no for me,"

Just when he finished talking, all of the Algea started chanting. Well, more like moaning and they would occasionally wail for a bit. I felt like running away from this cursed place but I stood my ground knowing that wouldn't fix anything.

Their voices themselves caused a chill to go up my spine and I felt dread in the pit of my stomach. Just thinking about what possibly could happen next made me feel nauseous. All of a sudden, the dirt beneath us started moving.

The dirt below us bubbled as if it was a pot full of boiling water. I heard one of them say, "Ah, this graveyard, so much misery, depression, so much... pain." I could hear the glee in her voice and it terrified me. The Algea, all at the same time, raised their arms as if they were summoning Satan.

I knew I had to stop what they were about to do. I leapt forward, but the ritual was done. It was as if they had thrown all the misery beneath us and pushed it towards us. But, I wasn't affected. Ania groaned, "The daughter of Apollo won't do anything, why can't we feel her pain?"

I wasn't focused on them. I saw Leo collapse to the grey ground, catching me completely off guard. I dropped next to him, my eyes widening, not knowing what to do. His breaths were quick and he was sweating a whole bucketload.

"Leo? Leo!" I tried to shake him awake, but he was elsewhere. "What have you done to him?!" I shrieked, failing to look confident anymore. Achus sneered, failing to look mean as tears rolled down her face, "He's facing his fear now. Leave him be, as soon as he's done, we'll feast. Then we'll see what we'll do with you." They all got excited as she said 'feast', those animals.

"Caitlyn? What's happening, are you okay?" Leo whispered, but his eyes were closed. Confused, I leaned forward, "Leo, I'm fine, I'm the one who should be asking you!" It was as if he couldn't hear me, "No, I won't let them do this to you, I won't." 

I stood by his side, realising he was in some sort of trance, an illusion the Algea put him under. I listened to him helplessly as he called out my name in desperation. Then, he started calling out names. "Esperanza, my mom. Jason, my best bud and now, Caitlyn, my-"

"Yes, boy. Feed us!" Lupe shrieked in glee. I frantically tried to snap Leo awake, I even tried to wake him up by pinching him. But nothing worked, he still wouldn't fricking wake up. I knew it was useless, but I kept trying. 

His skin was greying by the second, his olive skin turning an ashy white. I didn't know whether to throw up or faint, they were literally taking away his life force. "Stop! Please!" I tried to get the Algea's attention, but they were really into it. Nothing could stop them.

His breaths got slower and his moans were merely a whisper, just when I thought he was going to die, the Algea put their hands down. But Leo didn't move. "What have you done to him?" I frantically looked back and forth between his unmoving body and the three vile goddesses. 

"He's dying. Because of his misery, we have almost regained our physical selves, but we need you to fully restore ourselves." Ania reached out towards me with a greedy look in her eyes. No, this can't be happening.

My feet gave way, unable to handle my shaking body. This was the end of me, I just knew it. I was just about to give when a thought came across my mind. What about my mom? What about my sister? My dad? Leo? They need me. It wasn't fair, the Algea shouldn't be doing this. I have to stop them. They're counting on me.

I pictured the faces of my loved ones and found the courage to stand up. They're counting on me, I repeated. I thought about the time I first arrived at Camp Half-Blood, it was a dream come true. I smiled in memory of that. I remembered when I first saw the faces of the heroes I've read, whom I wished they were real, they were.

My first game of Capture the Flag, our team had won. I was so cheerful for the next few days. When I regained my memory and Connor and Leo were there, Will and Leo's tour, my first music lesson back at camp. The list went on. I pulled all of those memories together and released they all had one thing in common.

Yes, they were all happy memories. But why were they happy? Warmth filled my heart when I knew the answer. I was with the people I loved, who I enjoyed being around, who I felt comfortable with. 

My hands tingled with energy and I held them in front of me. "You're gonna like this!" I smiled and hell broke loose. The sky opened up and a beam of light showered upon me. I concentrated on the beam and forced it to bend in front of me.

I could hear their shrill screams and one of their pleads stood out to me, "So much, happiness..." Achus screeched in disgust, "Get her before she completely disintegrates us!" The earth rumbled once again beneath me but I couldn't divert my focus off the light beam so I had to act fast.

A bony hand took hold of my ankle and I knew what I had to do. I thought happy thoughts and the hand let go of my ankle as if it got burned. But more were coming, I thought of the warmth I had felt when I thought about my warm memories and decided these guys needed cheering up.

I put all of my energy into my voice and I sang a high note. I felt unstoppable, my voice came out powerful and all of the skeletons backed away with fright and cowered into their comfy place underground.

I felt weak now, my arms were shaking in front of me and everything looked bright. I... must... keep...going. With all the remaining energy I had in me, I let out a loud push. Their cries faded away and before I knew what was happening, I collapsed to the ground.

The world kept spinning around me and I was unaware of the fact that Piper and Connor stood above me. My arms wouldn't move, even though I wanted to move them. I closed my eyes and a voice stabbed my ears, "Woah, Caitlyn. You look bad."

I felt a warm liquid fill my mouth and I could taste the sponge cake my mom would bake. My eyes regained focus and my arms and legs were able to function again. Wow, nectar was seriously powerful, thank the gods.

"Are you okay?" I felt a hand grasp my shoulder and realised it was Piper speaking to me. I nodded but I wasn't looking at her. Behind her, I saw three corpses. They clawed weakly at the ground and rasped out for help.

I stood up and walked over to the Algea, who now looked like skeletons with bad dental care. Tears poured down Lupe's cheek as she reached for me, "Save us, with that vial of yours. Our spirits are fading away. It is crucial to the world. Pain is needed, no matter what you think."

I crossed my arms, "Yeah, you were just about to wreak havoc and bring eternal depression on everyone. I can't trust you."

She hissed at me and took hold of my feet, "Please, I beg. The human balance of emotions is in your hands." She held my leg tightly with her bony hands, my mind screamed to destroy her but I knew in my heart I couldn't do that.

I thought for a minute and spoke to her, "Okay, I will help you. But so I can do so, you must promise to never lay a hand on any mortal, or immortal. Promise that you won't use them to make yourself powerful. You have to stay as spirits."

She scowled at me but when she looked at her sisters' pleading faces, she gave in. Lupe looked at me with anger in her eyes, "Fine, I promise that we won't lay a hand on any being and that we have to remain as spirits."

Piper stepped in, "Swear it on the River Styx," she used her charmspeak to convince Lupe quicker.

Lupe rolled her eyes, "Fine, fine, I swear it on the River Styx."

I held out the vial for her to take and was about to inform her that I needed some leftover. Before I said anything, she snatched the vial and drank up. She disintegrated and her other sisters took the vial. They all faded away from their bodies and became dark glowing orbs.

I caught the vial as it dropped to the ground and watched as they disappeared.


	28. Chapter 28

Caitlyn

"... I simply don't know what to say"

I looked back at Leo, my heart beating rapidly. I needed to do something, fast. I looked at the vile, his life in my hands. It was ironic enough that this was the second time he was dying in the hands of a potion. But we would be dying for the second and last time if I didn't move quickly.

I ran to his side, wincing as a black foam formed at the corner of his mouth. The vial in my hand shook along with my hand, unsure of what to do with it. Desperately, I opened it and pushed it towards his gaping lips. 

The sparkly liquid slowly came out, filling his mouth. His voice shook as he weakly whispered, "I don't want this, yuck." This situation reminded uncannily of a scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Harry has to force-feed his principle a liquid he didn't want to take.

"No, Leo. You need this, I promise you'll feel better after you drink this. You'll feel happy, it'll all be rainbow and unicorns." I assured him with my most tender voice, not a drip of sarcasm. He looked up at me with a focused look in his eyes, "It will be rainbows and unicorns, and you. Tacos for everyone" His sounded really out of it.

My heart sank, forcing a smile, "Okay then. You'll be with me, Starlight. Everyone will get tacos. But you have to drink." His eyes were looking more and more unfocused. I held a tight grip on him as if that was the only thing keeping his presence. With difficulty, Leo finally swallowed the Oprenthe. 

My stomach went hard as stone with the suspense. After a long silence, he started giggling, "I can see a unicorn behind you!" He started laughing like an idiot and to be honest, I was scared. All of a sudden, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped in my arms. Oh, gods, what did I do? I shook him, trying to wake him up. I put two of my fingers on his wrist, I could still feel his heartbeat.

I found it hard to breathe, I was in a panic. I neared my ear towards his mouth and almost fainted. He was still breathing. I sighed with relief my heart calming down. He's okay, we needed to move him. I beckoned Connor and Piper over to help me carry him.

As we lifted him, a dawn of hope settled upon me. This was it, we were going home. Back to Cabin 7, back to the dreaded fitness class. But, I was going to miss the action. We walked out of the cemetery grunting, making sure no one was around.

I mean, it would look suspicious if you see three people carrying what looked like a dead body out of a cemetery. We loaded him onto Festus and once he was safely secured, I let out a breath I was holding. Thank the gods he was alive, once he wakes up, I was going to slap him to Tartarus for scaring me like that.

Festus grunted, looking at Leo's unconscious body. "He's okay, let's go back to camp so he can get all the sleep he can get," His gears turned and nudged me, wanting me to sit at the front.

"You want me to drive you?!" My eyes widened. He nodded in approval and nudged me once more. "Dang, he must really like you to let you drive him. He once tried to bite my hand off." Connor eyed Festus as he got on.

I smiled and winked at Festus. This was going to be a fun ride.

We walked back into the camp, leaving a nauseous Connor behind us. Festus and I enormously enjoyed taunting Connor during the long ride. We agreed on doing a loop every time Connor complained. As I lead Festus in, I was expecting everyone to give us grand applause and throw roses at us.

Was it too much to ask for saving the world from the Algea's wrath? I guess this was how being a demigod was like. They have to save the world at least a thousand times during their lifetime so it was no big deal.

Piper and I carried Leo into Cabin 7 so he could get checked on by Will. After we laid him in bed Piper asked me if I wanted to go to the Big House to tell Chiron that we had returned. I shook my head, "I'll stay here, Will's gonna kill me if I don't say hello to him. He's a lil' overprotective."

Piper nodded in understanding and left the cabin. I sat next to Leo's bed, knowing Will was in the room. "You can come out now," I looked behind me. He popped his head out from behind the door and smiled.

"I don't regret being a lil' overprotective." He sat down next to me, "You're back. Are you okay?" 

I nodded, "Yeah, a few bruises here and there. I'll be alright." I showed him my arms, which was full of purple blotches on them. I was going to have to get used to it now that I was back to combat.

But I had a flashback on the times I would collapse and scare the heck of everybody. I furrowed my eyebrows together in thought. "You're worried, what are you thinking about?" He asked me, searching my face. 

It was so nice to have a caring nice brother rather than the one that used to argue with me all the time, it wasn't a competition or anything, mind you. 

I started explaining that over the quest, I had gotten the ability to peek into the future as Artemis's 'punishment' but it wasn't clear because she couldn't control that sort of thing.

When I finished, Will raised his eyebrows, "Seeing visions of the future? That is incredibly rare to find in Apollo's kids. Even if he is the god of prophecy and all." 

I stopped in my tracks, "Wait, that's it! Apollo must've done something to me and made me like this. I didn't know he did favours for his sister but..."

Will shook his head, "No, you have to be born with the talent, dad can't have just given it to you like that. No god can do that."

I slumped, disappointed. 

Will started standing up, "As much as I enjoy talking to you, I need to check up on your boyfriend-"

"He's not my boyfriend Will. For the gods' sake!"

"Well, whatever. I will be back soon, just make sure he doesn't run away."

I threw a pillow at him as hard as I could, managing to hit the side of his head as he walked out of the cabin in search of his tools.

What now? I looked around my cabin, soaking it in after the days I hadn't been in it. I still thought the cabin needed glamming up. I pictured a mural over the roof and thought of putting a sun in the middle of the cabin with golden swirls forming out of it.

Real artistic aren't I? 

"Ahem," Someone cleared their throat behind me. I can definitely say I had not been expecting to see a 40-year-old blonde guy with bronze skin behind me. 

"Yes, dad?" I asked him, crossing my arms around my chest. After all this time he had left me in the dark, I needed answers.

He raised an eyebrow, "You can't threaten me, I'm your dad. Not the other way around."

"You weren't acting like one these days,"

"I'm sorry Caitlyn, but when you're a god you can't always be around your kids. Remember how late I would arrive home from work? I wasn't at work, I was looking out for my other kids. Don't look at me like that, I'm a god! I can't go to work!"

"Fair enough, but that still doesn't answer my question."

He went silent, deciding on his words. He hesitated before answering, "Fine, you were born with the gift. And I might've made it sorta... weak? So instead you would dream about them. I know you, you always forget your dreams so that was safe."

What. The. Heck. So now my dad tells me I can look into the future, great. "But what happened? I now have it as a punishment, how on earth did your sister bribe you?"

"She did not bribe me! Well, she did promise me tickets to- No! I don't give in to briberies! No, how dare you!"

I managed to crack a smile. This was very typical of my dad. 

"Well, now we got that cleared out of the way. I'm telling you why I'm actually here." He held out his hand, revealing a chain necklace with two circular charms on it.

"My necklace! I hadn't noticed it was gone!" I gasped. I reached for it but he pulled his hand back.

"Nuh-uh. I don't want you stabbing yourself."

"Stabbing myself?"

He used his thumb to press one of the circular charms and in his hand, there now was a golden bow and arrow.

"Cool!"

"Yeah, and the other charm is a spear. I was meaning to give it to you earlier but it passed my mind."

"Look where I got my forgetfulness from,"

"You know what? You don't deserve this..."

"I'll take it!"

I snatched the chain from his palm and put it around my neck. I was so happy to have it back. A whisper rang through the cabin, "I'm so proud of you. You're much stronger than I thought."

I looked up and no one was there. I looked back down to my charm and noticed engravened writing behind one of them. Always follow your calling.

A smile crept up my face as I held my chain muttering a silent thank you. "Beautiful father and daughter moment. I'm in tears." I leapt up and hugged a now choking Leo.

"You're awake!" I beamed. Thank the gods he was okay!

"Ribs. Breathe. Your arms. Stronger. Than. I thought!"

I released him. Allowing him to breathe freely. Once he caught his breath, he asked, "Where the heck am I? Heaven? I remember-"

"Oh shut up. We're back at camp. You should be thanking me for saving you."

His hand rubbed his chin as he thought. He was in deep thought. I rolled my eyes knowing this was one of his acts. But oh how happy I was to have him back again.

"Should I be really thanking you? After all the times you jabbed me in the ribs?"

"Yes!"

"Fine," He looked intensely into my eyes, "Thank you, Caitlyn Diaz. For saving my life, you truly know how fond I am of my awesomeness."

I felt my cheeks burning up as his eyes didn't move from mine. Dam it, why won't my heart stop beating uncontrollably? I pulled my gaze away from his dark eyes and whispered, "You're welcome."

He relaxed into his sheets. "So, mind telling me what I missed out on?" 

"You didn't miss much, you're good.:

"Great."

An awkward silence settled the room, activating my ADHD. Leo was going to say something when Will walked into the room with some medical supplies.

"What's up, guys! I got the stuff I need!" He put the supplies in my hands and once I was focused on the equipment, I could feel Leo's gaze on me. Unmoving.


	29. Chapter 29

Caitlyn

"Have you ever felt the joys of spring? I did, and I don't like spring."

A groan escaped my throat when I felt someone nudging me in my sleep. Dammit, they just interrupted a lovely dream between me and- Leo! I opened my eyes to see a very recognisable head of curls with a mischievous grin with it.

"What in the Hades, Leo? How on earth did you get past the laser system?" I exclaimed, soon realising I was yelling at him in my minions pyjamas.

"So there is a laser system! Well, I deactivated your cabin security with the powerboard next to your cabin. If you don't want intruders, best if you don't leave it right next to your cabin."

I threw a pillow at him in annoyance and crossed my arms over my chest, "What do you want? It better be a good reason for disturbing my sleep."

"I thought you would enjoy a night stroll in the woods, but you don't seem in the mood so I'll just lea-"

"Screw it, I'm coming with you."

"Great! But uh- wouldn't it be weird if you get caught by the harpies in those pyjamas?"

My face went hot and I gave him a nervous smile. "Excuse me..." I ran over to my drawers and pulled out some clothes and tiptoed rapidly to the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and looked in the mirror.

Oh great, so now was the time my hair decided to go crazy. I silently groaned and tried to brush my hair the best I could and put it in a ponytail. I couldn't understand how Leo didn't run away screaming with my hair the way it was. I could be Medusa for all I know with my hair like that.

I put a grey t-shirt and some black jeans and walked out of the bathroom. "Okay, let's go" We crept out of the cabin, the night wind blowing my ponytail around. I was glad I had tied it back. I started shivering in regret for not having brought a jacket.

We kept an ear out for the harpies and crept towards the forest, trying to not make a sound. It was hard though, I had to resist the urge to giggle once I came up with a plan to scare Leo. 

I crept right behind him and when he stopped at a corner, I whispered in his ear, "Leo Valdez, I will eat you!" I imitated one of the shrieking harpies that roamed the camp at night in search of demigods sneaking out.

He was such a scaredy-cat. Leo jumped in fright and let out a shriek only a young girl would produce. I fell to the ground in laughter, not caring that we needed to be quiet anymore. "You are evil! That was not funny, man." He whispered as he clutched his chest.

"It was worth it, you totally screamed like a girl." I chuckled as I wiped away a tear. "Looks like I outsmarted the prank king of the camp!" A goofy grin spread across my face.

"No fair," He groaned, but as he looked up, his eyes started widening. "Oh, schist!"

I looked behind me to find three harpies swooping towards us, licking their lips in hope of a pleasant dinner. We didn't need to say anything, we dashed for our lives. I could hear their screeches, which were bound to wake everyone up.

Kids, this is what happens when a night stroll isn't planned out.

"Run to the woods!" I yelled, "We'll lose them with the trees!" I dared not to look back in fear of facing a sharp row of teeth if I turned around. My legs started getting tired when I could see a bunch of trees right ahead. We started running faster, the harpies' screeches closer than ever.

They were close enough for me to hear the flapping of their wings and their snarls. "Here! We won't be separated!" Leo yelled. He held out his hand and without a second of hesitation, I took it. We ran side by side, legs moving at the same rhythm. 

We emerged into the trees, dodging one tree after another, together. To my relief, the screeches faded away into the night and we were left alone with the trees. We came to an abrupt stop and all we could hear was the creaking of crickets.

We looked at each other and burst out into laughter. "Wow, they were ugly, that's for sure." I looked behind to make sure no one heard us. Leo started chuckling and again, we burst into fits of laughter. Was it the adrenaline? Probably. No crazy person would be laughing like we were in the middle of the woods.

I looked down at our linked hands and tried to loosen Leo's grip. Leo noticed as well and released it with a nervous smile. I tried to keep my heart in check as Leo rubbed his neck. I started shivering once I was free from Leo's warm hand.

"You cold there?" Leo asked. I shook my head but it was in vain as my chattering teeth gave it away. "Man, I don't have a jacket with me. Wait right there," I looked at him in confusion as he started gathering sticks.

He ignited his finger on fire and held it over the sticks until it produced a roaring campfire. I looked at him in gratitude and held my hands over the fire, instantly feeling warm. 

We sat next to each other as I warmed my numb fingers up. My eyes wandered around the illuminated trees and the shadows they made. I wasn't the person to get creeped out easily, I thought the scene looked quite peaceful.

My eyes diverted to a tall tree right ahead of us and an idea popped in my head. "Last one up the tree is minotaur poop!" 

"Oh, it's on!"

I dashed ahead of Leo and started scrambling up the tree. I remembered having tree climbing competitions like this with my sister, the memory brought a smile to my face. Because of my experience, I reached the top of the tree first and had to wait a whole minute for Leo to reach me. 

He was puffing. "You. Are. Fast. Ugh, man." 

I stuck my tongue out at him and observed the scenery down below. Trees surrounded us on every side and as I looked up, I could see the stars shining, scattered around like glitter. Straight ahead, I could see the camp. I could tell that we had created quite a commotion, campers were out of their cabins and looking around confused. 

I chuckled when I made out a mini Chiron with bed hair. 

My neck hair stood on end when I felt a pair of eyes on me. I looked to my side where Leo was looking at me. When I caught his eye, he smiled at me. Blush crept up my cheeks and though it was quite dark, I pulled my face away in hopes that he didn't see.

"Why do you always look away?"

"I don't know what you mean." I turned to face him, forcing myself to make eye contact. I crossed my arms, challenging him. 

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

"No one knows what you mean, ever."

He held my gaze, challenging me back. I had to resist his gaze but it was too much for me. I looked ahead, biting my lip.

"So you do like me," He said with a smirk.

I almost fell off the branch in surprise, I stared at him in exasperation. My face was hotter than ever and my heart was hammering firmly against my chest. "Who the hell put that idea in your head?"

"Connor."

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in annoyance. "Fine, don't tell me."

He furrowed his eyebrows together and looked at me in confusion. "I'm serious, Connor suggested that- Wait, is there something going on between you two?"

Schist, he got me there. But instead of saying anything, I shrugged and focused my gaze on the sky, keeping my mouth shut.

"Caitlyn..."

I faced him, finding him with a pleading look in his eyes I couldn't resist. I had to tell him. I shouldn't keep things to myself. I took a deep breath and started explaining, "Okay, so Connor approached me during our quest and he sorta declared his love for me but..."

"Oh, okay cool. I was just kidding about you liking-"

As much as I wanted to stop, I couldn't help myself. "Yeah but I don't have any feelings for him! Well, I haven't told him but I think he knows that-"

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for telling me, listen-"

Oh, curse my loud mouth. "He knows that I like someone else! Yeah! He didn't want to come up to me when I was with him so-"

"Yeah... Wait, what? Hold up-"

I started giggling hysterically, I had lost my mind. "He knows that I... That I... have a crush on the all-mighty repair boy! Me! Some random fangirl who somehow is a demigod likes a smartass master builder. Crazy, right? All the other fangirls would be going after my neck! Because... because, I like him! You!"

When I finally finished blurting everything out, I felt like sinking into the ground, not emerging ever again. This wasn't how I pictured this moment, what an idiot I was. Why didn't the god of embarrassment spare me? I mentally slapped myself at least 100 times and hid my face with my hands. Leo will never talk to me again. I will never see the light of day.

But no, he didn't say anything. The eerie silence was a good sign he wasn't mad. But he was probably ashamed. My face was flaming hot and felt as if it was going to explode. This was ridiculous. All because of my loud, revealing mouth.

I continued bullying myself when Leo finally spoke after a long silence, "Wow, just... wow. I guess it really is a small world."

My head went out of my hands as I looked at him in confusion. He gave me a sympathetic smile and looked straight ahead, "I actually like someone too." My stomach dropped and I felt worse than ever. When will Tyche decide that she had given me bad luck?

Leo studied me and asked me, "Do you know who it is?"

So he still had a thing for Calypso. I put on a fake smile and nodded, at least he was being honest with me. He leaned back and started rambling, "She has a really nice smile and is awesome to hang around with. Even though she doesn't know it, but damn, she is beautiful. She has a big personality but only shows it to people she is close to. I was lucky enough to be one of those people."

She seemed like a nice girl. Probably not Calypso.

"Do you wanna know who this mysterious girl is?"

"Sure, if you're willing to tell me."

For some reason, he shuffled closer to me and had his face directly towards me. He had his classic mischievous smile planted on his face. My breaths shortened as his smile widened once he noticed my blushing. Why is my heart fluttering so much? I could never belong to him, I know that. He only considered me as a friend.

I returned his smile as I waited for him to tell me. He started chuckling, "Aren't I being clear enough? Woah, love does really blind you. I'll give you a clue on who she is, you have to guess."

I didn't understand why he was being so secretive. Why couldn't he be straight to the point? He neared his lips towards my ear and whispered something out of the world, "She's sitting right next to me."

Words caught in my throat and I searched his eyes, expecting to see a joke behind them. But his dark eyes were sincere as a child's embrace. I expected my brain to explode or my heart to stop beating but all I felt was ease settle down my body.

My mind was clear and everything felt unreal, even the splinters in my fingers. His eyes bored into mine, waiting for me to say something. I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Oh, so she's a ghost, isn't she? Well hi there!" I joked.

Leo's eyes fell and he started rubbing his neck with an awkward look on his face. "Well, this is awk-" I cut him off by doing something unimaginable. I kissed him. I didn't even think before doing it, one moment I was saying something then all of a sudden, my body decided to ignore my brain. 

To my surprise, Leo started kissing me back. The air went still as if time had stopped. The taste of cinnamon filled my lips, causing me to smile. All my senses went numb, I was too submerged in this moment which I had never dreamed possible.

When I pulled away, the breeze went at it. The crickets started chirping once again as I found myself smiling more than a child at Christmas time. I could see in his eyes that he wanted more but I resisted, "No, wouldn't want to make your ghost girlfriend jealous." 

He pouted but continued to gaze at me. "So..." I started, noticing the awkwardness of the situation.

"We should be heading back if we want to survive Chiron's wrath."

"Yeah, I'm tired."

Once we were on the ground, we started walking back to the camp when Leo put his arm around my shoulders. It felt completely natural and I wasn't embarrassed to relax into his warm arm. "This is comfortable, we should do this again." I smiled.

"Yeah, because we both have a death wish." Leo grinned. "Plus, more kissing alright?" I pushed him away and hid my smile. I stalked away as I heard his cries, "Oh come on! I was joking! Well, sort of. I know you want to! Ugh, please don't be mad at me!"

"You're weird Repair Boy."

"You're the one to say that, Starlight!"

I started running away laughing as he started chasing over to me. Even though if I had risked my life multiple times and got myself into sticky situations, I guess being a demigod was worth it if this was what it had to offer.

We raced back to the camp, prepared for what the future had to offer. This time, I didn't know what it was going to throw at us. That was the fun part of being a demigod, though I get visions of the future, I never really know what to expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N
> 
> Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading my book! I can't believe you even reached this bit! Anyways, I am planning to write a sequel in the future, but only if you want me to. Tell me what you think! For now, goodbye my friends!
> 
> Peace out.


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